Keith Renninson's Tenacity Blog

Team Building Strategies with TRIP and Imagination

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 23:04:51 GMT

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Team Building Strategies with TRIP and Imagination

This is the second in a series of four on team building with TRIP. Remember, in my last blog I shared that it would be performed in reverse with “purpose” first and now we will implement the “imagination” section.

Imagination is probably the most fun of the character traits of TRIP. I love it because I can immerse myself in creativity and play! For the team leader, they get to select those team members who exhibit creative mastermind skills with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. For the team members they will get to explore areas like:

· Innovation (one of my personal favorites)

· How to differentiate with new ideas and approaches

· Collaboration and communication of information

· Lastly, critical thinking

There are a lot of ways to tackle imagination and even more on how to integrate the four processes named above. It must start with imagination on any project. How can we design something different, capturing it with excitement so that the team sees the purpose with clarity?

After the team takes the TRIP Technique Assessment ™ the team leader can select the team members according to their scores on the imagination section. This should ensure that collaboration and communication will go hand in hand with the creativity needed for a successful completion of the project. Utilization of expertise combined with continued feedback will build trust, clarity of each individual’s role and loyalty to each other. To create that environment there is no end to the exercises will help, just Google these for more information:

· Blind Retriever

· Perfect Square

· Team Lunch

· Pair Up

Each of these uses tricks that will help with communication, collaboration, imagination, public speaking, and strengthening of relationships . A real time benefit of these exercises is speed. The speed that your team learns to work together will increase the speed that it creates and implements, shortening the time to the project completion. Remember to celebrate the small successes along the way, recognizing those who stood out with their work and ideas.

I hope this segment on imagination has helped you see your way to a better stronger team that will love working together.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

Keith……

TEAM BUILDING STRATEGIES WITH TRIP

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 23:06:25 GMT

Photo credit: Jason Goodman of Unsplash.com

TEAM BUILDING STRATEGIES WITH TRIP

This TRIP Tip starts a four-part series on “Team Building With TRIP” ! This is something that I’ve been wanting to do for some time now. Over the years, I’ve been involved with a lot of teams in volunteer work, boards of directors, the U.S. Army, and corporate America etc., and it is always a lot of fun, but sometimes frustrating. It’s that frustration that I want to eliminate with a TRIP roadmap to successful team building,

How can TRIP help with team building you ask? By using it backwards! Huh? Yup, we will start with “Purpose” instead of Tenacity. The series will move from purpose to imagination, to resilience, and lastly to tenacity.

When you look at TRIP from this reverse perspective it becomes clear that it flows naturally in team building and task completion. As with any project you must know your purpose first, so that’s where we will start.

The components of team building starting with Purpose are:

· What is our purpose/goal?

· Why is it important?

· When will we know who our teammates are?

· How will teams set their goals?

· Where will we work virtually/in-person/both?

What is our purpose/goal? The team leader must illustrate this concept as he puts his team together. Once everyone is on board with a solid understanding of the purpose or goal they will be working toward the rest falls into place more easily.

Why is it important? The team leader will also stress the importance of the mission. This could be a new product, new concept, project or many other things that needs a team to accomplish. Understanding the importance builds a cohesive unit who will want to support one another.

When will we know who our teammates are? There are often teams within teams and knowing who you will be working with is important to form the bond of individual specialties and differences. Your team leader will have this prepared in advance.

How will teams set their goals? The team leader may assign them or give the team autonomy in what they do first to accomplish their tasks. Sometimes this is a team exercise in and of itself and can prove fruitful if planned and executed well.

Where will the team work…virtually/in-person/both? This will also be a team leader decision to assign directly or indirectly with the team. Some members may work better virtually in the middle of the night while others need to see the team members during the day time. This is where accurate and effective communication will pay great dividends as the team learns to work together.

These types of strategies will be only as strong as the team leader who will set the stage and pace for the work to be completed. A fair amount of advance planning on their part will help with a quick and efficient start. Celebrating the small successes in the “Purpose” phase with team member recognition and possibly a pizza party or a new team building exercise that is fun will go along way to helping the members bond and learn to trust each other.

Here are some fun team building exercises:

During the workday set up a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle and try to complete it as a team in a specified time.
Brainstorming sessions have always been a favorite of mine...pick a problem about the project and brainstorm a solution.
T ake my TRIP Technique Assessment (R) and openly share your results and discuss the suggested actions. This will share a little about each members personality.
Lastly, have a contest like who can bring the best cookies, or who has the best desk decorations on the 4th of July or Halloween.

Obviously, there are a lot of ways to start building a new team and this is my take on it. I’ve utilized much of this type of plan in my life, and it has served me well.

I hope this first step to understanding team building with TRIP has opened your eyes to a different way to look at it.

Next up will be how to use the “Imagination” phase to your benefit and build a team that is full of creativity and energy, and some new exercises to build new pathways to great communication !

Remember, take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

Keith……

My Dad Taught Me Well

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 18:39:20 GMT

Photo credit: call-me-lamb of unsplash.com

My Dad Taught Me Well

When you search for the attributes for a great leader you get a very long list of things like trusting, honesty, selflessness, empathy, adaptability, integrity and authenticity. While these are all good things to strive for, I think they should include being:

· A Tenacious communicator

· A Resilient planner

· An Imaginative innovator

· A Purpose driven leader.

Of course, the type of industry sometimes dictates how a leader should present themselves. I had the good fortune to work summers under my Father’s leadership at an explosives factory while going to college. Yes, you read that right, it was a dynamite manufacturing facility.

My Dad had risen from a laborer before World War II to a supervisor after he got home. He was in charge of the box factory and the shell house. I worked in the box factory running a huge stapler making boxes of different sized and shapes. Besides me, there was another man on a staple machine, one who brought us flat cardboard that we would bend and staple into shape, another one who took the finished product on palates to the shell house where the order of dynamite would be placed in each box.

Dad had a good reputation on the plant as a fair boss who communicated well and treated each man and woman with respect. They knew the daily production schedule posted by him on a big blackboard using chalk to indicate the size of the shells and number needed. Both buildings were very noisy when all of the machines were running and everyone had to shout to be heard.

I think that it was during those two summers that I really got my first taste of TRIP without knowing it. My Dad loved using his imagination to improve the machinery. His 40+ years working there gave him a lot of insight into safety, innovation, personnel, and planning.

I loved watching him with the other workers. If we were behind in getting our daily production completed, he’d jump in and help often doing hard laborious tasks. He never lost his temper but used humor with the employees to get the job done. If we were done early, he’d congratulate us and let us goof off for a while.

I lost my father four years ago at 97 and miss his wisdom and positive outlook. But the lessons I learned from him still serve me well today.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

Keith……

The Power of Tenacity and Resilience Combined

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 23:35:52 GMT

Photo credit: Logan Weaver @LGNWVR of Unsplash.com

The Power of Tenacity and Resilience Combined

I’m sure I’m like you in that when you set your mind to something, you work hard to make it happen. Setting a goal and intending to reach it takes both tenacity and resilience. They are a very powerful combination.

Last summer after my second knee replacement, I wanted to get back to skiing more than anything, so I set a goal to be back on my skis by December 20 ^th the date I broke both my ankles. It seemed a little outlandish to set such a goal at 75, but as they say, nothing ventured nothing gained . I couldn’t just lay on the couch and feel sorry for myself.

It seemed like a worthy goal and with the help of my physical therapist and my gym I worked out diligently several times a week plus rode my bicycle once or twice a week weather permitting.

Being tenacious comes second nature for me, but resilience doesn't. I have to work at being resilient. I often was sore from exercise and didn’t want to go to the gym. I’d lay on the couch telling myself that I needed the recovery time to heal, or I hadn’t slept well the night before and I was tired or whatever I could think of to not go.

I found that if I set my timer on my watch for 20-minutes and closed my eyes, I would awaken from that short nap ready to go workout. That short nap allowed me to recover and rest and re-energize .

We need to use all of the tools available to activate our TRIP muscles . I’m like you in that I need those tools, like a nap, to get me out the door. Resilience is a crazy trait, sometimes it’s there ready to help an sometimes it’s not.

The key is energy. A nap helps me re-energize and changes my mental talk from negative to positive . I can keep a goal in mind with tenacity, but I need a little help with resilience. I don’t want to be a quitter or procrastinator those two names really get to me. Taking a nap helps me avoid them and push on toward my goal.

Motivation is a funny thing, isn’t it? I get motivated because of a goal and yet I need to talk myself into taking action. Sometimes I feel like I’m being lazy and have to talk myself out of that too. We all need to be self-motivators in life, it’s what keeps us working toward our goals. But it’s not always easy.

Music helps a lot when I get to the gym. Put my earphones in with some great tunes that I can get a rhythm going with my exercising and pretty soon I’m off and running…so to speak.

I hope this helps you get started on your goals, give it a try.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, its one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

What is a Life TRIP?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sun, 19 Feb 2023 18:00:53 GMT

Photo credit: Keith Renninson

What is a Life TRIP?

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed my closing line : “Take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!” I’ve had several compliments on it because for those who live the TRIP lifestyle it is meaningful.

My registered trademark is “Life TRIP International®” that was designed by a business consultant I used five years ago. We spent four days together refining my business plan, logo, company name revision, and marketing, all for my speaking business.

Out of it came a lifestyle philosophy that if followed closely can elevate your personal and professional image and production over time. The TRIP philosophy is meant to help you focus on the four characteristics of tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose.

If you’ve taken my TRIP Technique Assessment you’ve found out how you scored in each character trait. Then using my follow up video emails you can then lay out a game plan to raise your score and improve your life overall.

Self-awareness borders on the spiritual for me. Once you are aware that there is something bigger than us that giving us guidance, you also come to the understanding that we all create our own reality with our thoughts and imaginations. Before there was a pencil, it was a thought. Before there was a cookbook, it was a thought…everything is the result of thoughts.

To be good at thinking, we need to have tenacity to pursue a thought to it’s ultimate conclusion and to be resilient when we hit a failure on the way to success. That could be said for an invention or a new relationship. It takes time. It takes focus. It must be something you desire enough to take on the title of purpose.

Taking a TRIP for a lifetime doesn’t mean that you have to commit to a strenuous regime of discipline and action, but it does mean that you need to keep the philosophy in the back of your mind and live it daily. It’s not hard once you’ve started and gets easier as time goes by.

It has become a game with me. If I have something I want, I become tenacious right off the bat. That makes me smile, I feel my energy grow quickly around the project of getting that special thing. I immediately lay out an initial game plan, see the steps I want to take to keep my enthusiasm up and see small successes happening. And, before you know it I have a project that I can sink my teeth into and have fun.

Give it a try, build a lifestyle around TRIP, share it with others, even buy a new baseball cap…yup, that was a new project for me and they are for sale on my website here.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Tenacity-An Adventure Memoir

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 13 Feb 2023 21:17:35 GMT

Photo credit: Keith Renninson

Tenacity-An Adventure Memoir

Many of you who have written to me about my book have all echoed the same thought, that it was a book of memories, and it was. The whole time I was lost and after, I had a lifetime of memories float through my mind. Memories of triumphs and ones of failures.

Memories help us keep things in perspective. We won’t always succeed, but we won’t always fail either. There has to be a duality, a balance if you will, to our lives with good and bad, ups and downs, and happy and sad. It’s all in how we look at our mission in life, what is our purpose and how do we want to satisfy it.

Life is most definitely an adventure , and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Every morning I awaken with a sense of adventure of what lies ahead in the next 24 hours. I always “intend” to have a successful day, completing whatever tasks I’ve laid out the night before . Intentions are like goals with the exception that we expect them to turn out the way we want. Have you ever intended a great parking place near the front door of an appointment, only to arrive just as a car pulls out giving you that space you wanted? I have, you should try it, it works on restaurant tables, quickly healing an injury, and many other things. Intention can also be part of your purpose/mission.

I hope that many of you who haven’t read my book will get a copy , you may be inspired to take an adventure of your own…with the intention of positive growth and excitement!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

Keith……

The TRIP Technique Assessment is Now Free!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 19:05:37 GMT

The TRIP Technique Assessment is Now Free!

I’m excited to announce that my original TRIP Technique Assessment is now being offered to the public free of charge! I made the decision because I want to make both the exam and the results available to a broader range of people. The results come with a month of weekly follow-up videos to help all participants raise their awareness and effectiveness in the TRIP character traits.

When I designed the Assessment almost a year and a half ago we were targeting a certain population of customers and during that time I’ve found that it restricted the exposure and a lot of folks didn’t have access to training it offers.

The Assessment is 32-questions and only takes 6-7 minutes to complete. The questions are thought provoking but not difficult. The overall experience should enhance your thinking and feeling about tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose (TRIP).

I hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity and see where you stand…are you Super-Active, Active or Passive?
How can you improve your score?
What activities will help you become stronger and more successful through the teachings?

Take the Assessment today and start your journey to a more positive and enthusiastic you!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime!

Keith......

How Are You Motivated?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 22:18:50 GMT

Photo credit: Randy Tarampi of Unsplash.com

How Are You Motivated?

Last week my blog focused on four ways (TRIP) to stay motivated enough to complete your New Years resolutions. That topic stirred some curiosity about how we humans are motivated. My research brought up a lot of data, but it all boiled down to: Are you motivated intrinsically or extrinsically?

Intrinsically is internal where “doing something for the sake of personal satisfaction” versus extrinsically which is external and is “doing something to earn a reward or avoid something negative”.

I had the unfortunate experience over the holidays to complete 24 hours of continuing education before my insurance license lapsed…ugh! I was extrinsically motivated to finish the courses and the exam. Believe me when I tell you in the future, I will find a way to get the CE credits in a way that doesn’t require 24 hours in front of a computer screen during the last month of availability.

I lean more to the intrinsic motivation because I love to get a lot of personal satisfaction . Such as, I am much more motivated to get in shape at the gym to get back on the ski slopes. I get satisfaction out of both activities, the workout, and the time gliding down a mountain side on the snow. Plus, my clothes fit better!

Setting New Year resolutions has a lot to do with how we are motivated. What makes you get up in the morning and tackle your to do list ? I love to do lists and I make one before the beginning of each week. They give me a roadmap for the upcoming work that needs to be completed. Resolutions are kind of like that. If you list the tasks to meet the resolutions in order and cross them off you get the satisfaction of seeing tasks finished, and you get closer to meeting the goal.

Sometimes we are motivated by negativity, like with my insurance license. Did I get satisfaction out of finishing the online classes? Yes, of course, but I could have used that time skiing ! Therein lies the rub. If we can find a way to set goals that are intrinsic, we will be happier than being under the gun to meet an extrinsic goal to avoid a problem.

In other words, set goals in such a way that makes you feel good and gives you a sense of accomplishmen t. Make them internally. Use my TRIP system with tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose and you can’t go wrong.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s one man’s opinion, mine.

Keith……

Four Ways to Improve Your New Year’s Resolutions

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Fri, 30 Dec 2022 18:30:10 GMT

Photo credit: Tim Mossholder of Unsplash.com

Four Ways to Improve Your New Year’s Resolutions

I’ve been in my own business since December 1975 and every year I make few resolutions that I’d like follow through on for the new year. Some of them survive and are completed and others mysteriously fade away. What I’ve discovered is that in order to keep a promise that I’m essentially making to myself, it has to be exciting, fun, and filled with assurance of a successful outcome. That’s a tall order, isn’t it?

It helps if I tie it to a reward, like, if I make five contracts to speak at events, I will take five days off on a special vacation. If the vacation spot is in Costa Rica or the Mexican Riviera where I can snorkel, go hiking, or maybe a zip line (my favorite!) I get excited and really go to work. This type of planning makes my tenacity kick in because I’m jazzed to go.

When the previous year has been tough like 2022 was (I broke both ankles skiing and had both knees replaced, remember?) then my planning for a trip becomes even more important because I want to bounce back with lots of resilience. We all talk about being resilient, but it’s a hard thing to do sometimes. As I was trying to recover from a lot of leg trauma, I knew I needed to go to the gym when I all I wanted to do was feel sorry for myself and stay on the couch. But, forcing myself to get up and go was rewarding as five months after my last operation I was able to start snow skiing once again. This was a mid-year resolution that I concocted with my doctor as a dangling carrot to keep me focused.

Every year I say to myself that I’m not going to make any resolutions because let’s face it they are hard to keep. So, I must bring my imagination

to the surface and create something unique to play with. In my line of work often I want to speak to a particular group, association or business genre’. By setting a goal to reach the right person, at the right time, with the right message I can get excited with the prospect of making it happen. With all of us who are selling something that means a lot of calls, emails, blogs, and videos need to be produced, but that’s all stuff I love. I get to use my imagination and creativity while brainstorming to come up with a game plan with new topics, artwork, and ideas to make it happen.

What this all boils down to is satisfying my purpose in life. My son and his wife are expecting their first child in a few days. This will be my first grandchild and to say that I’m excited isn’t an exaggeration. Her name will be Olivia Renn, cool name huh? I suddenly had a new purpose in life when I found out I was going to be a grandpa. I want to live a long life to spend time watching her grow up, plus, I want to spoil her rotten!

Lastly, I’d like to welcome a new sponsor to my blog, Michael Nash of Remax Masters Millennium. He’s a full-service realtor in the Denver area and can satisfy your needs in residential and commercial real estate. Give him a call or send him a referral, I’d appreciate it.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

Happy New Year!

Keith……

Sorcerer to the Rescue!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 22:27:43 GMT

Photo credit: Keith Renninson

Sorcerer to the Rescue!

After I met Jon and Janos, we spent a few days trekking together and then had to start making plans to return to Bhaktapur. We had heard from the man who owned the tea house that we rented our room from and often ate at that there was a scheduled Tata truck that would go down to Bhaktapur to retrieve supplies and return. Finding out when, where and who would help us get a ride was the hard part.

After I was rescued, a 17-year-old boy at the house we stayed that night at spoke pretty good English, and he shared that his schoolteacher was with the Peace Corps and her name was Sharon. As we sat in the tea house, I looked out and saw someone who had to be an American. I called to her, and she stopped to talk. I love it when the Universe provides what you need right when you need it. As I told her how I knew her name and we talked further, it turned out that she knew about the Tata truck and could get us a ride on it. She was sweet, from New York and so helpful. It was fun talking to someone from “back home” and we both felt the connection.

The next morning, we were outside to catch the truck and say our goodbyes to Sharon. As soon as the truck drove up it reminded me of a movie starring Roy Scheider from 1977 called “Sorcerer”. It was the exact truck from the movie, big, ugly and with a huge, oversized grille. It was the same size and configuration as a deuce and ½ Army trucks I drove in the service.

The ride to Cavalli was anything but comfortable. We traveled down a dry riverbed with boulders the size of old Volkswagen's. In the back, we were tossed to and frow and had nothing to hang on with. I was all beat up after arriving in Cavalli several hours later.

You read that right, it took us only several hours while my experience of being lost took me four days to get to Taplejung . I could have trekked up the riverbed, but the directions I got from the storekeeper in Cavalli told be to follow the footpath and I’d arrive by the end of the day. As it turned out, I had been circling Taplejung all that time. I wouldn’t change what happened to me and the time spent wandering lost. I met wonderful people, made memories for a lifetime and was no worse for wear when it was over. My stitches and blisters had healed, and I could walk normally again.

I had learned to be tenacious and resilient with imagination and purpose . All in all, it set the stage for the next phase of my life and I’m ever so grateful for that.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

Keith……

Stories from the Himalaya Trail

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:16:00 GMT

Photo credit: Giuseppe Mondi of Unsplash.com

Stories from the Himalaya Trail

Recently, I’ve been sharing stories that occurred while I was lost in the Himalayas years ago and I’ve got more that relate to the overall topic of this blog…TRIP. I don’t want to give away the whole story so you will get more of the day-to-day struggle that I went through before and after I was rescued. That’s where we will start off today.

After being found and brought to civilization, I met two young men from Sweden and began to trek with them for the time I had left. They were on what they called holiday before starting college. In Sweden they get a year to travel and find themselves a in real world way. Their names were Jon and Janos 22 and 21 respectively, tall, blonde, and full of energy. We hit it off right away and agreed that we would trek together for a while and then see how we were going to get back to Bhaktupur and ultimately, Kathmandu.

They had been through some harrowing experiences already in the six months on the road. In Pakistan, they were robbed and chased by some unsavory characters, rented a car that continuously broke down, caught dysentery, etc. Each of them exhibited strong tenacity and resilience in how they handled themselves which I found admirable given their ages. They spoke English so well and asked a lot of questions about America, and I had more than a few about Sweden too.

We were staying in a hostel in a small town on our way to Bhaktapur one evening. It had a large room with a lot of wooden cots with thin mattresses. We laid our sleeping bags down and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, I was awakened by Janos thrashing around. At first, I thought he was having a nightmare, but I switched on my headlamp to check on him and could immediately determine he was having a seizure . I shouted at Jon to wake up and help me. I rolled him on his side to keep him from swallowing his tongue and help him breathe. He was shaking and jerking uncontrollably which was hard to hold down.

After a few minutes, he calmed and became conscious once again. I gave him a drink of water and asked if he had medication for epilepsy. He said yes and guided me to where in his backpack I could find the small bottle. Years ago, I was married to a woman who was epileptic and I had learned a lot about them while we were together. I found that experience very useful during my life. After a while we went back to sleep, but the next day Jon was quite angry that Janos had never told him about his illness. He was apologetic and saddened that he had put Jon and me through the experience. He had simply forgot to take the medication for a couple of days.

Having an illness like epilepsy makes you strong in so many ways, learning to cope with it is hard. But he was a strong-willed young man and had come to grips with it quite well.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

Keith……

Ah, Four Days Off

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 19:26:16 GMT

Photo credit: Keith Renninson post-rescue in Kathmandu

Ah, Four Days Off

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I opted to not write a blog pre-Thanksgiving and do one after instead, and it prompted some questions:

Did you enjoy your four days off over Thanksgiving?
Did you get four days off?
Did you get Thursday off and work Friday and possibly Saturday?
Did you use the time off, if you got it, to do some end of year planning?
Did you use it to relax and just be with family and friends?
Did you travel for pleasure or to get to family gatherings?

These questions weren’t even relevant during COVID, were they? Back then we didn’t do a lot of things that had been normal for most of our lives. Most folks have returned to “normal” as COVID has diminished and we are loving having our freedoms back to do as we please.

Now that those days are returning, what have you done to change your life? Have you looked at what you were doing and found things that weren’t living up to your expectations and made changes to achieve new heights?

TRIP is a tool that helps you get your mojo back and up to speed. Using your character traits of tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose to plan and adjust your life gives you focus. They bring clarity to the process o f making serious decisions .

When I was lost in Nepal , I had to experience difficulties on the trail before my mind could give up on thinking about old failures. I had to hit a point of

convergence where living in the moment was so paramount that I was forced to accept my circumstances and make adjustments.

COVID did that for many of us.

Thinking and acting in the old ways didn’t cut it anymore. Using TRIP for those of you who follow this blog on a regular basis hopefully has given you a leg up on that process and propelled you forward to make solid action-based decisions . Continue to us it as a roadmap and follow it to a successful conclusion. Ask good relevant questions, seek to be thoughtful and mindful in your answers and resilient in your action items. Allow your imagination to be crazy creative but in a purposeful way. TRIP will serve you well if you use them diligently.

We’ve got a month before a new year begins…set new goals utilizing TRIP and see what happens. I think you’ll be pleased with the outcome…good luck!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Re-Discovering Self-Discovery

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 19:59:30 GMT

Photo credit: Keith Renninson

Re-Discovering Self-Discovery

This is the sixth episode in my series of stories from my book “Tenacity” when I got lost in the Himalayas of Nepal. They were the basis for my TRIP Technique Assessment and Keynote programs.

One of the things that I noticed while walking through the Himalayas was how my mind kept itself occupied. The smallest things dredged up old memories. I thought I was there to figure out what I wanted to do when I got home and where my life was headed, but I kept looking back at experiences long since gone bye.

It was hard not to focus on failures in work, relationships, and adventures. I had great difficulty journaling about things I wanted to change, improve, and succeed at. Wasn't this was supposed to be an exercise in purpose and imagination? I felt that I needed to re-imagine my purpose. I tried to visualize a new me, successful in a new path, happy, healthy, with a deep loving relationship.

At first, I thought I was thinking about the past to help reshape the future, then it evolved into a pity party about my failures. I felt that my getting lost was another futile attempt at self-discovery…I couldn’t even plan and execute a trip that would help me layout a game plan for the next few years.

By the time I had met Pasang , the monk, I was in need of his calm demeanor and wisdom. Even the presence of Buddy offered companionship the never-ending unconditional love a dog brings to a relationship.

I was sad leaving Pasang; we had immediate chemistry in philosophy and spirituality that opened the door to great conversation and understanding. We don’t find those kinds of friendships easily in American life. The hustle and bustle of business, family, charity, sports, volunteer work etc., doesn’t leave any time to explore someone new.

It was then after moving on in my quest to find Taplejung that I noticed a calm knowing had returned to my psyche. I started to feel as I did when I started my trek that everything would turn out just fine. Reliving my memories seemed to fade as I began to look to the future with more enthusiasm. My purpose was to lay out a plan that I could implement when I got home, and I found a renewed vigor in that prospect. New ideas started surfacing and I would stop and put them in my journal right away. My meditation/visualization time seemed clearer and more productive as well.

I’m sure I’m like many of you in that I have a tendency to push when I should let my imagination work at its own pace and purpose will follow. Being lost, I was forced to slow down. I couldn’t find my way out quickly, I had to walk up and down ridges on rough, rocky dirt paths. I had to tend to my blisters regularly. I forced myself to stop and take pictures and rest. All of which helped me stay focused in the present and live, just live.

I hope you can find your way little easier by slowing down and being present in your lives. You ultimately will feel happier and more grounded as a result.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Plank Bridges, a Monk, and Candles

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sat, 22 Oct 2022 01:24:37 GMT

Photo Credit: Keith Renninson

Plank Bridges, a Monk, and Candles

This is the fifth in my series of stories from my book “Tenacity” when I got lost in the Himalayas of Nepal. They were the basis for my TRIP Technique Assessment and Keynote programs. Although, it was a very stressful experience, I grew from it in so many ways that have served me well ever since. I hope they help you too.

It had been a long day with many challenges, but one that put my fears to the test was when I had to cross a thirty-yard plank bridge missing a lot of planks. I have acrophobia, the fear of heights, and this bridge was a hundred feet above the canyon and rushing river below. I knew I was going to have to face it when I first spotted it several miles below. I kept looking at it and my fears continued to grow until I had to gin up my courage and take that first step.

These bridges are common, often very old, rickety, and dangerous. The locals cross them daily with ease and familiarity. I on the other hand was carrying a 60-pound backpack and weighed around 170 pounds at the time. Combined I weighed a lot more than the average Nepali.

I walked slowly, stepping over the missing planks and the ones that were loose and damaged. I held onto the ropes that were on each side with a death grip while sweating profusely. I was passed by several Nepalese people who looked at me like I was crazy in my fear. I finally made it to the other side and sat down to have an orange to catch my breath and slow my heart rate. Overcoming fear is an act of tenacity. You must face it and take immediate action because if you wait or procrastinate, it only gets worse. The more you use it the easier it gets to face and push through. A few moments later, I felt humbled when a flock of sheep crossed.

In the late afternoon, I came across a small, very old Buddhist temple sitting on top of a ridge with a wonderful view of the valley below. I decided that I could use a short meditation, so I sat down in front of the statue of Buddha, crossed my legs and began my ritual of breathing slowly to bring down my brainwave activity and heart rate. In the early 70’s I had studied Biofeedback and learned how to use it as a mediation technique. I dropped quickly and deeply into my alpha state of mind and became very relaxed. I’m sure that I dropped off to sleep as it was dark when I came out of the meditation.

A monk stepped from the shadows and welcomed me. I had a feeling he had been watching and waiting for me to awaken. He spoke with me for a few minutes about where I was from and where I was going. Having been educated in Kathmandu he spoke fluent English and invited me to stay the night and share a meal with him. Dressed in traditional crimson and gold robes, his name was Pasang, about 5’ 1”, a little rotund with a jolly laugh.

I joined him in his living quarters which were lit with numerous candles, a picture of Buddha hung on the wall, and a small wood burning stove where he had a vegetable stew cooking. Buddy curled up in a corner and watched us while dozing.

Our conversation turned to philosophy as you might expect given his education and my curiosity. It is one of my favorite topics to discuss as it turned to the purpose of life. I shared my western views, and he shared his eastern ideology. We had much to talk about and did so until the wee hours when I couldn’t keep my eyes open much longer. He gave me a place to sleep in my sleeping bag and we said our good nights.

As I fell asleep, I thought about how my purpose in life had brought me to this place and this man. There is no such thing as coincidence, I see it as almost always synchronicity. I was looking for direction in life with mid-life and mid-career crisis nipping at my heels. Much of what he had to say brought me back to seek a balanced life of moderation and happiness. He said that he sensed I had a sense of “knowing” that came from my meditation. A knowing that there was a higher power which gave me a source for my spirituality that would be grounding. I needed to focus on my mission, with faith and trust to guide me on my quest for a deeper meaning in my life. Of course, he was right. It was with that thought on my mind that I fell asleep.

Seeking purpose is an individual exercise that we all face if we take the time. For those looking inward for self-discovery often find what they are looking for. But you must take the time to do it and being patient is key. Life is a constant sea of change and opportunity which is so exciting if you face it with curiosity, humor, and humility.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Finally, a Companion

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 03:28:48 GMT

Photo credit: Keith Renninson, Buddy post-bath

Finally, a Companion

This is the fourth in my series of stories from my book “Tenacity” when I got lost in the Himalayas of Nepal. Hopefully, you will see how my experiences helped me develop my TRIP Technique lifestyle where having strengths of character from tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose are so important to a successful life.

The blisters on my feet were becoming a real distraction, I had one Clif bar left and I was quite sure that the Iodine tablets I was using to purify my water wasn’t strong enough…other than that being lost was really interesting.

I had cut a walking stick when I passed through a bamboo stand and it helped a lot on the uneven, rocky trail. Each day the temperature was in the upper 70’s under a beautiful clear sky and I sweat a lot carrying my backpack. It seemed as though I was meant to relive old memories as I walked along. They popped into my head and took me to another reality in my mind that helped me not focus on my problems.

One such memory was how I found a dog that I loved dearly for close to 15 years. His name was Hamilton, a Border Collie that wandered into the rock quarry I was working at after returning home from Vietnam. He was lost, starving and in need of medical care. I fed him and gave him water as soon as I gained his confidence starting a wonderful friendship. I truly believe that God gives us what we need when we need it, and Hamilton was one such time.

On this day in Nepal, I thought I saw an animal out of the corner of my eye when I looked behind me and sure enough there was a black mutt staring back at me. When I stopped, he stopped about 20 feet away. He looked as wary of me and I’m sure I did of him. I was tired, so I sat on a nearby rock and took my pack off. I took out my Clif bar and tossed him a small piece of it…he walked to it, sniffed it, licked it and ate it. I think I saw a small wiggle of his tail giving away his approval.

Most dogs in Nepal are diseased, malnourished and mean, but this one looked pretty good overall. His coat was matted, snarled and filthy, but his eyes were clear, and he walked well. I continued to toss small bits of the bar to him until I had him eating out of my hand. I petted him and talked to him and soon we were best of friends. We walked together for most of the day.

I hadn’t had a shower for four days and needed a good cleansing. When I happened across a small stream, I followed it down off the trail for about 50 yards until I found a pool that I could sit in. I stripped down, waded into the cool water, and sat down. There were birds chirping and a slight breeze that made the leaves rustle in the luscious green trees. I took a good bath with soap that smelled so good. I began play with the dog splashing him with water, he picked up on the game and played along, barking, and jumping around.

I coaxed him close and gently pulled him into the water with me and proceeded to give him a bath. When he discovered what I was doing he stood still and let me wash him with the soap and then start trimming his coat. It was full of burrs and knots, and you couldn’t see his eyes at all. When I finished and rinsed him off, he looked so much better. I don’t think he’d ever had a bath. He was like a new dog , prancing down the trail all clean and happy; I named him Buddy and he was with me for the next couple of days.

Animals show resilience when cared for. When he had trust in me his spirits were lifted and it was visible how happy he was. We humans are very similar, aren’t we? When we are loved and cared for, we are happier too. During the COVID lock downs we all suffered from the lack of love and caring that came normally from relationships. You had to really work to keep your spirits up. But that’s what resilience is all about isn’t it? The old saying is so true, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. Cliché’? Yes, but it gets to the core of what needs to happen.

Little Buddy got a bath and a new lease on life with love and affection. Treat those you meet in your day with love, respect, and affection in such a way that makes them feel good and in turn you will benefit as well. Our country needs to find it’s way back to respect for each other, being resilient and happy, not angry and fearful, will help...a lot!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Unexpected Help Came Out of the Darkness

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 21:03:24 GMT

Photo credit: Keith Renninson from "Tenacity"

Unexpected Help Came Out of the Darkness

This is the third installment of my sharing stories from my book “Tenacity” that include reasons to follow my TRIP Technique lifestyle. Strengthening your ability to be filled with tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose throughout your life is a very worthy goal for anyone.

I was on the journey of a lifetime, and I knew it. Traveling alone in the Himalayas was filled with adventure and each day gave me a renewed sense of mystery and excitement. I had a two-day bus ride into the foothills of this great mountain range and they were unique to say the least.

On the second day, the bus was filled to the brim with passengers, sacks of grain, the occasional pig and chicken, angry Maoists, and unexpected friends just when I needed them most.

The afternoon was hot and dusty as the Tata bus labored along the rough, dirt mountain roads, crossing streams and meeting other buses on the high cliffs. The drivers would have to back up until there was a wide spot where they could maneuver to let one pass on the outside. The drop was over a thousand feet and harrowing to look at. I found this part of the trip scary, and I wished I could get out and walk while they attempted these passes. Sometimes the two vehicles would scrape their sides to get by, which explained they were always painting them at rest stops.

When we finally got to a stretch where it would be safe to go faster, we moved right along at 35-40 mph. I had a chubby woman standing on a bag of grain in the isle while simultaneously holding on to the roof strap and a chicken. Every time the bus would bounce around the chicken would peck at me and the woman would lean into me to keep her balance. I suffer from claustrophobia and between the heat, dust, and cramped quarters I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I looked for a way out of the situation and settled on a choice that wasn’t much better.

I had noticed that there were several metal ladders on the sides of the buses, and one was right outside my window, so I opened the window as wide as it would go and hoisted myself up and out grabbing the ladder and pulling one rung at a time until I was climbing onto the roof. There were several Nepali boys that worked for the driver putting luggage and cargo on the top sitting nearby. One of them saw me climb up and reached out to pull me next to him before I fell backwards and off the bus.

They looked at me in amazement and then broke out in laughter. All three of them were young and filled with fun. They taught me a Nepali song and we sang for a while before taking a nap. I was awakened by a Gurkha soldier poking me in the side with his rifle. We had stopped at a checkpoint and they wanted me back on the inside of the bus. It was getting late in the afternoon and the bus was almost empty anyway, so I was glad to get back down.

As it was getting dark a self-proclaimed Maoist boarded and spotted me right away. He didn’t like me, an American, being on the bus and was loud and angry about it. My fear of him was rising as time went by, when the fellow seated behind me tapped me on the shoulder and he whispered that he was a soldier headed home on leave and he had some advice for me.

He told me that the angry man posed a problem for me and that he and several of the other passengers wanted to help me get off the bus in safety, so he told me to rise as soon as the bus stopped in Cavalli our destination. I was to quickly get my backpack and hurry to a counter where I could a room for the night. I followed his directions as the passengers all stood up and formed a barrier between the man and me as I exited. The boy from the roof handed me my backpack as I stepped out of the bus smiling and saying namaste’. In the darkness, I hurried to the one lone light that hung over a counter of a building that I assumed was a hotel. A diesel generator was running loudly spewing exhaust. I was able to get a room and a meal before bed which was great. My day had been filled with tenacity and resilience and I never saw the Maoist again and was very grateful for the advice I got from a stranger in the dark.

My next episode will cover getting lost on my first day trekking.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

Keith……

Murder in the Street of Baktuphur

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 19:37:30 GMT

Photo credit: Sincerely Media of Unsplash.com

Murder in the Street of Baktuphur

This is the second installment revisiting some of the experiences I captured in my book “Tenacity” which is where my TRIP System was born. I got several emails from folks who were enjoying them…thank you!

After spending a quick two days in Kathmandu with my friend Lava, a plan came together that he was less than enthusiastic about. I chose to trek to Mt. Kanchenjunga in the northeastern region of Nepal. He said it was near the Indian border and unsafe…I told him that I had faith and knew I would be alright and went about getting things ready to go.

This new plan meant that I would lose three days to travel before my actual trek would begin, but it looked promising with adventure and new experiences …I had no idea how much that would turn out to be true.

The next day I boarded a six-passenger, single engine plane that was at least thirty years old. Since I was late and the last one to arrive, I had to sit in what is commonly known as a jump seat in the entrance well. It folded down and I sat next to the door. This turned out to a wonderful spot because we were headed east and went right past Mt. Everest. I could see the base camp below as we whizzed by. What wasn’t so wonderful were the air currents near the big mountain were terrible and the little plane was thrown about violently for most of the hour-long flight. I thought sure it would come apart at any minute, it creaked, popped, and groaned the whole time. The airport had one dirt/grass runway and we circled it twice while they got the grazing cattle off the landing area.

I spend the night with Suba and his wife, a cousin of my Nepali friend in the States Sam Shrestha. I didn’t get much sleep as there was a murder outside his home during the night. Some poor chap was stabbed and robbed.

Overcoming fear at times like this requires a lot of resilience . Because my imagination was working overtime on all of the bad things that could go wrong. The warning about the crime in the region, not knowing much about where I was going or how I was going to get there.

Funny thing about imagination. How in one moment it can help you immensely in creating a solution, and in the next scare you to death with fears about a possible situation. The positive and negative a wrapped up in one gift. I was getting a good dose of resilience and imagination and they were showing up in my journal more and more each day.

Some more about my trip in the next newsletter.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

Keith……

It All Started with a Snowstorm

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 06 Oct 2022 18:01:18 GMT

Photo credit: Egor Myznik of Unsplash.com

It All Started with a Snowstorm

It’s been 26 years since I traveled to Nepal and subsequently wrote my book “Tenacity” about the adventure. I thought it would be fun to relive some of the stories about my experiences on that trip over the next few blog posts, I hope you enjoy them and see how my TRIP system came about.

Yup, it all started with a snowstorm. Sandee, a good friend of mine, was to drive me to the airport for an 11 pm flight, but as the afternoon progressed so did a typical November Colorado blizzard. We left with plenty of time, but with traffic and icy conditions it wasn’t long before we were behind. I got to the United ticket counter, checked my luggage, and was informed that my flight was about to leave and I’d better hurry, plus she couldn’t guarantee that my luggage would be on the same flight. I ran like an old O. J. Simpson commercial through the airport and got to the plane just as they were closing the doors. I knew then that my trip to Nepal was going to be an adventure with many twists and turns .

Life is like that isn’t it? We often start a project or job that is well planned and ready to go when those pesky twists and turns pop up and make things interesting. I checked in Los Angeles for my bags, and they weren’t there, and the clerk told me that they had been checked through to Bangkok.

It was during this trip that I developed the basis for my TRIP system. I learned that I needed to be tenacious and resilient from the start for a successful outcome. I wasn’t aware that I was implementing those two-character traits, it came natural for me to be that way. I’ve always had a very positive and upbeat outlook on life and felt this vacation would be just as I had planned and a lot of fun. But then those pesky twists and turns began to recycle with new challenges.

I made it to Bangkok and when I entered the baggage claim area the clerk checked, and my bags had been forwarded on to Kathmandu. I was getting a little nervous whether I’d see them again or not. Luckily, I had my backpack with a change of underwear and socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste which made my overnight stay more comfortable. It was then, while watching the Asian world news, I discovered that there had been heavy snows in Nepal and some Japanese trekkers had been caught in avalanches and killed. When I landed in Kathmandu, I saw helicopters unloading body bags from those avalanches, and I knew then that another set of twists and turns were about to disturb all my planning. But at least my bags were there waiting for me, what a relief! Oh ye of little faith...

This trip was going to teach me real tenacity and resilience as on the job training for what my life experience was going to require. What happened next in the following blog.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Do the Seasons Change Your Mood?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 15:43:01 GMT

Photo credit: Julian Labelle of Unsplash.com

Do the Seasons Change Your Mood?

I have a friend, and fabulous fellow speaker, Holly Duckworth , who sends me ideas for my blog when she sees something interesting. This week she sent me a link to an NY Times article about how fall begins to affect our mood and ability to build mindfulness and resilience . I’ll provide the link, but you must subscribe to read it.

The gist of the article was about a lot of folks who find themselves longing for longer and warmer days and the positivity that comes with them. It goes on with the belief that you can use this time to strengthen your resolve with tenacity and resilience …and I couldn’t agree more.

Whether in business or your personal life, your mood is affected by daylight unless you have the ability to go within and find and your positive inner voice. You know, the one that helps you get up in the morning, fires up your desires to produce and be resilient in the face of all the negativity permeating our world today.

I gave a virtual speech to a local chamber of commerce today and one of my slides has the following quote, “The University of Munich found evidence that a positive mood strengthens our ability to see options…when faced with difficult situations, your mood might be the biggest predictor of how resilient you might be.” Isn’t that so true? I’m much more resilient when I’m in a good mood than when I’m not.

I don’t know about you but I’m a cold weather fan…give me sweaters and cool temperatures any day. I love summer because of my bicycling, but I love my fall and winter more. I’m an avid skier and the urge to hit the slopes is already growing. I broke both of my ankles in a skiing accident last December, so I’m looking at new boots to more securely attach me to my skis. Yes, I know at almost 75 I’m supposed to be scaling back my activities, but that’s not going to happen so new boots it is!

When we have something to look forward to we become more resilient and energized. I was really looking forward to giving my speech today and was enthusiastic with my virtual crowd. That energy kept me running all the rest of my day.

Whether it’s a sporting activity, learning how to knit, writing a new novel you can get ready for fall and winter with a lot of enthusiasm to elevate your mood and increase your chances of being happy and productive.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Consistency is Key!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 19:19:31 GMT

Photo credit: Denys Nevozhai of Unsplash.com

CONSISTENCY IS KEY!

One of the things that we as business-people have control over is our consistency in value and service. As the world around us seems to be swirling with controversy and confusion we all have the ability to control what we put out as our product. Often that product is ourselves. We can rely on our morals, ethics and commitment to quality to see us through these difficult times. There is a lot of stress relief in being consistent in these traits.

With tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose as our bedrock approach to life in general, we can show up strong and secure in how we serve our clients. Also, with so much inconsistency around us this is a wonderful way to stand out, to differentiate our businesses and show what we stand for with:

· The ability to not waiver in the face of difficulty is the hallmark of optimism and tenacity.

· The ability to plan and execute a new vision is the highest quality of resilience.

· The ability to utilize our imagination to see a new path, a new idea or new way to implement is the most positive way to growth and prosperity.

· The ability to understand our purpose with such clarity that it gives us so much energy to push forward that we can’t be denied in our efforts.

Consistency in all of the TRIP characteristics enables us to satisfy our goals and those of our clients simultaneously. This is what business is all about. Keeping it simple and yet strategic gives us a clear path to success.

This type of mission also gives employees, as well as our customers, an understanding of who we are and where we are going. They can’t help but want to be involved and committed to our cause.

Convey these sentiments with your advertising, mission statements, value statements and overall communication with a consistency that etches them in the stone of promise and then follow through to make them happen. You can do it; I would be willing to bet that you have the will and the desire…jus’ sayin’!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Our Brain is So Cool!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 06 Sep 2022 21:55:30 GMT

Photo credit: Davisuko of Unsplash.com

Our Brain is So Cool!

Ever notice how your mind goes into overdrive when you have a car problem? What’s wrong with it? How much will it cost? How long will I be without my vehicle? Where should I take it to get it fixed? The more you think about it the worse it gets, right?

When you look at your mind during this exercise, you see that it’s your imagination that’s racing in high gear. It can be so creative in the assumptions and reasons for what is to come and how awful it will be.

Imagine how successful you could be if you could harness this “imaginative state” to produce high quality ideas, processes, and proposed outcomes…wow, you could be the next Elon Musk! At lease that’s how I imagine his mind works with all the high-level projects he’s got going on all the time.

That is why I have a white board that is always full of ideas that I think will advance my business further toward the goals I have for myself. I never take it down, but I often do erase thoughts that are fading with excitement and energy and add new ones that are mulling around in my brain.

In my TRIP Technique keynotes I love the section on imagination. It’s where I get to play with my audience and assign them a task to come up with a new idea and flesh it out. Then I pick a table and see what they’ve come up with, we brainstorm together as a room of creatives who want to join in the fun and see where it goes.

The old saying used to be that we only use 10% of our brains capacity…is that still true? Here’s a link to an article that says it’s false: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321060#other-brain-myths

Their studies have shown that most of the brain is active most of the time, even when we sleep. To draw this to a sweet conclusion, this means that we are thinking all the time. Ready to receive and produce ideas that might stir us to action.

This article moves into what foods make your brain healthy and those that lead to problems over time. And into fun facts about the brain that you probably don’t know…take a moment and read it I think you’ll find it interesting.

Anyway, you look at it our imagination is a wonderful tool to bring an idea to life mentally and then in reality. Try to exercise yours regularly and have fun ! This is great for leadership, sales and public relations.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion, mine!

Keith……

Be the Emcee of Your Own Interviews

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 04:53:43 GMT

Photo credit: MIguel Henriques of Unsplash.com:

Be the Emcee of Your Own Interviews

As I transitioned from the financial services sector to one of writing and speaking, I found I had a lot to learn. It was a day and night switch from one industry to another. I had times thinking I’d made a big mistake. In the first few years I did close to 100 “free” gigs at Optimists clubs, Lions, Chambers of Commerce, Veterans organizations, Rotary clubs, etc., etc.

During my time as a financial planner, I was President of my local NAIFA association, and we had large turnouts in those days, and I learned how to speak in front of them as a de facto emcee and leader.

This past weekend I was the emcee for a wonderful non-profit called Aero Angels. Their mission is to fly critically ill children to hospitals for treatment anywhere in the US at no charge. They are growing in need, and I got to emcee the latest fundraiser. I had such a good time working the crowd on microphone, plus stage time with their volunteers, telling their story, introducing the Founder Mark Pestal, sponsors, and donors among others.

It has been like learning a new mutual fund or insurance product in that I needed to break everything down to the smallest components, commit them to memory and then re-assemble them back into a complete product. Being an emcee is like that. Each event is different with unique sponsors, games, booths, food vendors, photographers, and related displays of cars, airplanes, and entertainment. I needed to be up and running on how they all fit into the event puzzle, announce them, and promote each one separately.

It's a lot of fun, but as you might imagine complicated. It’s the complicated challenge that I find the most fascinating and energizing. I’ve always loved a challenge and speaking has its own special things that make it exciting.

When you are making a presentation to a new or existing client you must take control of the stage to speak and be ready to illustrate your products, benefits, and long-term implications. You should rehearse, study, and prepare your proposal to be understandable and educational. Doing all this fits right into my TRIP Technique because:

· You have to be Tenacious in your approach to the details of your program

· Be Resilient and ready for objections

· Imaginative in how you present your proposal creatively

· Lastly, being focused on the Purpose of your client and your own vision is also paramount to success of all involved.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

How Do You Define Success?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 18:37:29 GMT

Photo credit: Mike Petrucci of Unsplash.com

How Do You Define Success?

It is amazing how everyone is writing about how to achieve success…” The Seven Steps to Sustainable Success” “Success on Your Terms”, “Success is just Four Steps Away”, “How to Be Successful in 30 Days”…and on, and on, and on ad nauseum.

The Internet has made an industry out of the “Big Success Con” ! What’s sad is the number of people who fall for it. Success can be defined and achieved in many ways, and they all involve discipline, hard work, and vision, not get rich in 10 days with no effort .

You may have heard successful people being interviewed like I have. I always look for the honest ones who say something lik e, “I’m a 10 year overnight success”. It takes time for a business plan to plant the seeds of growth and nurture them into a successful entity. Oh sure, there are those who have an idea and the marketing cash, and maybe the established celebrity to bring it to a successful launch and produce an overnight success, but they are few and far between.

Most need to follow well defined paths utilizing methods like my TRIP Technique ™ to earn success the old-fashioned way. No government handout or get rich quick scheme ever come with anything but disappointment in the end.

How you define what success will look like for you is uber important to getting started on the right foot. Does it mean $100,000 in sales in the first year? Does it involve having a monthly net revenue o $50,000? Would you like to have 100 employees producing a product that meets a shipping goal of 25,000 units a month?

Working backwards from your stated definition will tell you how much time, effort, investment, and good luck will bring you safely to your vision. All of that will involve tenacity, resilience, imagination, and a strong sense of purpose for everyone involved to make it happen. It might happen in six months, or twelve or twenty-four, but with a clear vision and implementation of TRIP it will happen.

If you’re a one-man shop it may take a little longer. Hire an assistant as soon as you can and delegate well to make the machine efficient and grow from there. You can’t do everything yourself; you will burn out and fail.

Look for ways to use TRIP in your daily planning and long-term goals. Take care of yourself physically to stay mentally sharp . When you are healthy you will make a good leader and others will want to follow your example. Eat right, get plenty of rest and exercise, and take time off to enjoy life along the way.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith……

Harnessing The Power of Purpose

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 20:56:56 GMT

Photo credit: Alex Kotliarskyi of Unsplash.com

Harnessing The Power of Purpose

Leadership of any business must find clarity in their purpose beyond revenue. Of course, the bottom line is ever-so important to survival in our wacky economic times, but the man or woman on the assembly line must be able to see how they are valued in the overall scheme of things to fully adopt the Purpose Statement coming down from on high.

I found a great article that articulates this concept really well and I’d like to share the link with you here:

https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Five-ways-to-harness-the-power-of-purpose

The credentials of the authors for “Strategy+Business” are sound and experienced, and I think you will find their approach to this ongoing problem simple yet effective.

As I share my TRIP Technique ™ with my audiences I often talk about how Purpose can make or break how employees see their role in the company. To fully differentiate your business from your competitors you have to fully evaluate what makes you unique and why your customer should care.

When everyone from the CEO to the maintenance engineer are on the same page a sense of pride in your product or service will be very evident to your customers. Value creation begins with “pride of ownership” which is how you can stand out from the crowd.

It doesn’t really matter whether you are a one-man shop or have hundreds of employees, differentiating your company from everyone else in the industry is no small challenge, but by putting your own spin on who and what you are with down to earth language and implementation will make all the difference.

I often write here that you can have more than one purpose in your private life…a charity purpose, family purpose, or a hobby purpose, but in business it needs to be very precise, simple, and direct.

Remember these:

· Got milk? (The California Milk Board)

· Where’s the beef? (Wendy’s)

· Built Ford tough! (Ford Motor Company)

· Just do it (Nike)

· The breakfast of champions (General Mills-Wheaties)

· …and my favorite of all time the Hersey Company Almond Joy ad: “Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don’t.”

I know that these are just product tag lines, but the same approach to your Purpose Statement will work just as well. Don’t use platitudes or clichés to get your point across because it will be recognized as not serious or productive. You can make it fun and serious if you work at it. Don't be in a rush, take your time for a quality Statement.

The old saying of you get out what you put in fits this challenge perfectly. Take time to make your Statement meaningful. Enlist the input from employees from all levels of your company, make it a contest, you may be surprised with what you get.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Finding Purpose in New Friends

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 21:13:20 GMT

Photo Credit: Shannon Stone

Finding Purpose in New Friends

You never know when you might make a new friend, sometimes they seem to come out of nowhere. But, as the energy of the Universe does its thing, they are often just what you or they needed at the time. Such was the case recently when I met a very talented and gifted woman at a conference that I spoke at. For privacy’s sake we’ll call her Susan. Susan and I hit it off right away. Don’t you love it when that happens? She had a smile that was so welcoming and warm that I knew we were destined to be good friends.

As I regularly write this blog and speak on Purpose as part of my TRIP Technique™ I mostly talk about it as a way to strengthen your resolve in business applications. But it can also open a doorway to new experiences in other avenues in your life.

From our first meeting Susan gifted me with wonderful insight on TRIP that she gleaned from my keynote. Her perspective was spiritual, emotional, and yet, still applicable to life in business. She saw things in my path through Nepal that were metaphorical to why I was there in the first place and how it would impact me for the rest of my life.

Have you ever had someone explain your own words to you in such a new and remarkable way that it takes your breath away? I love it when someone opens a door to a new way of thinking !

So often we get caught up in our own purpose so tightly that we don’t see the other possibilities until someone like Susan comes along and smacks you upside the head and awakens us to a plethora of new ways to see ourselves.

As our friendship has grown, I’ve mentored her with my view of blogging and speaking and she has brought a breath of fresh air to my perspectives…which frankly, had grown a little stale.

My son and I have this conversation frequently that I should bring more of my understanding of the spirituality of Law of Attraction, TRIP and how it fits into business…this is also what Susan has highlighted about what she got from my speech.

I’m sure some of you will find this a little woo-woo but there is an energy to this way of thinking and processing that adds value to your purpose, and I will be pursuing it a little more in the future.

In the meantime, be open to new friends and their perspectives, it may surprise you with insight you didn’t expect.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Have You Done Your Resilience Planning?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 01:03:52 GMT

Photo credit: Wolf Schram of Unsplash.com

Have You Done Your Resilience Planning?

As I do my ongoing monthly research for this blog I discovered an article with some interesting guidance from an author India with “Inc 42” and felt it was worth mentioning…you can be found at:

https://inc42.com/resources/survival-guide-for-founders-is-resilience-and-value-creation-the-answer-to-tough-times/

The author used statistics about the success/failure rate of new businesses. Plus, several words numerous times that point to how to use TRIP and resilience, in particular, effectively over time. They were focus, focused communication, planning and preparation.

The gist of the piece is about how new businesses fail because they lack resilience planning. And to quote him, “Resilience, after all, is the key to recovery.” Nicely put!

Small or new business owners often overlook the power of having a plan in place to overcome difficult challenges with the markets, supply chains, employee relations, marketing, and product development. Additionally, the use of value creation during a resilient process was highlighted because an aggressive approach to customer satisfaction with perceived value is so important.

Laying out a plan that your employees understand and adopt is crucial. They are often the front line face to your customers who need to see their resilient spirit. The article mentions having an underdog attitude that illustrates how we will come from behind and survive. Employees who can covey those sentiments with enthusiasm to customers who may be leery of doing business with a company that is struggling will be particularly helpful and valuable. Employees will stay longer than normal if they also feel the energy of ultimate success behind the resilient attitude of owners and managers.

I often speak about the bounce back characteristic of resilience and it’s something that may take a while. The bounce doesn’t always happen quickly, it takes time to implement a strategy and see results. If you have a plan in place, you can shorten the time it takes to realize improvements. But, if used properly you can energize your team, increase creativity in marketing, improve sales and your bottom line.

Focused communication is the key to all of this …with both the staff and outbound to customers. You can build value and relationships with the right messaging at the right time. Target your keywords, vision and purpose to all recipients.

No matter how you look at it, resilience planning will reap benefits in the short and long term for you and your company.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Please, Can I Have Another?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 18:35:40 GMT

Photo credit: Austin Chan of Unsplash.com

Please, Can I Have Another?

Knee replacement that is! Yup, eight weeks after the first one I added a new scar to my collection. At the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure that this was a good idea, but this morning, day five post-surgery, I can already feel the difference. Of course, I’ve still got six physical therapy sessions to go before I start to get range of motion back, but the grinding, popping, and arthritic pain is gone!

I knew this back-to-back surgery was going to test my TRIP skills and the past four days were the hardest by far, but I can feel the resilience, re-igniting, and resurfacing. I used my tenacity to fight thru the pain, imagination to figure out how to function on 1 ½ legs in the kitchen and bathroom, and my purpose was screaming at me today…get the blog done!

Do you use affirmations? Well, I have one that I repeat several times each day upon awakening, “I am a happy, confident, healthy man” and it had real meaning and substance this morning. The light at the end of the tunnel is visible, I will recover, and be back on my bike soon.

You can insert the TRIP philosophy into almost all areas of your life, it doesn’t have to be just at work, like:

· Going to the gym when your little voice says I’m tired.

· Enduring a traffic jam with a positive podcast

· Using your imagination and being creative when planning an anniversary gift

· Overcoming procrastination with enthusiasm and excitement

I fully understand that there are many folks with far more difficult situations than mine who are dealing with disability and pain, and I hope that they find their way to this blog for encouragement. TRIP is such a useful tool in challenging times.

I gave my keynote to the Colorado Society of Association Executives in Vail, Colorado a couple of weeks ago, and then connected with some of the attendees on LinkedIn. It was so gratifying to hear that they were using my TRIP Technique™ after the conference and seeing results.

Programs like mine only work if you put in the time and effort to learn about it and apply it to your everyday lives.

Would you like me to speak to your company or association? Contact me here!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith……

Do You Use the Law of Attraction?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 18:49:48 GMT

Photo credit: Vincentiu Solomon of Unsplash.com

Do You Use the Law of Attraction?

I’m sure that all of you have hard of the Law of Attraction, it’s been around for a while, since early last century actually. The book “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace Wattles set the stage for deep examination of the practice.

In our day and age, some of his methods and words seems old fashioned but they are as valid as the day he wrote them. Consider these steps:

· Connect to the universal mind through meditation and visualization

· Impress your thoughts upon the ”formless substance” to bring them into material form…thoughts are things! Remember someone had to visualize the pencil before it became a thing.

· Utilizing a positive attitude is paramount to open the door to success

· Build your principles to find wealth, wisdom and happiness

My TRIP Technique ™ also assists you in finding our way to the Law of Attraction. When you utilize each of the character traits of tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose the law becomes easier to see and implement.

I’ve often spoke about how visualization can help you achieve your goals. Use a vision board where you can see your goals each day in pictures and words…here’s a link from leaders.com on how to build one: https://leaders.com/articles/business/vision-board/

The one facet of the Law of Attraction that most folks try to bypass is taking action. You can meditate or pray until the cows come home, but if you don’t take meaningful action toward your goals the Universe or God isn't really interested in helping you. In other words, you’ve got to have some skin in the game to make it work for you.

· You’ve got to be committed, ready to move with tenacity and grit.

· You need to be able to bounce back with resilience from a place of no action.

· You need to use your imagination to set your goal and create your product or service

· You need to discover your overriding purpose that gives you the enthusiasm and energy to work on your goal each and every hour, day and week.

Over the past couple of years, I have created over 50 videos that help with many of these concepts surrounding TRIP. You can access them at: https://bit.ly/3esNVBr

These videos were initially intended for the financial services industry, but many folks have told me that then apply to sales, leadership, business management and much more. Please feel free to look at them…they are all short under 5-minutes.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith……

Longevity and Aging

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 01:41:55 GMT

Photo credit: Logan Weaver of Unsplash.com

Longevity and Aging

I recently gave a keynote on “Longevity and Aging Using TRIP for More Fulfillment, Freedom, and Fun!” and it made me realize that so many folks of that age group need to hear my message.

Like you, when I’m preparing for a client, I try to use my strengths right up front. With tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose (TRIP) I’ve got them at my fingertips. Since I’m 74 and not willing to give up on my passion of presenting the TRIP Technique ™ to new audiences I fit right in with this demographic.

It always helps to relate to your customer in as many ways as possible, but that’s a difficult task if you have a large age difference. When I first started with New York Life in 1975 I was 27 and I sought prospects who were within 10 years either side of that age. The company often gave me leads that were folks who were much older than I which made me feel awkward.

I soon learned that if I prepared well, studied the products they were interested in I could still make them a client. Overtime, I actually came to enjoy my older clients much more as they weren’t in a hurry, and were willing to share their stories so that I could satisfy their needs.

Sometimes it took several meetings with different products to find their hot button and close the sale. But it was a solid sale that stayed on the books for years to come, plus I received many referrals from them because they had come to trust me and have confidence in my advice.

I didn’t know that I was using TRIP back in those days. I was developing my character traits that I thought would serve me well over time. It wasn’t until I got lost in Nepal that I discovered my four words and how to apply them daily. If you learn how TRIP works and use them regularly you will see that they provide you strength and determination combined with creativity and purpose.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith

How Decisive Are You?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 22:10:08 GMT

Photo credit: vladislav-babienko of Unsplash.com

How Decisive Are You?

Making decisions is a daily if not an hourly affair. We can’t escape it, nor should we want to. Making decisions is a human necessity, to live your life you must make decisions about everything from what to wear that day, what to have for breakfast, whether to meditate before work or during, and on, and on and on.

Because it’s a never-ending process, it takes tenacity to stay on top them and make focused and reasoned decisions. It may seem trivial to think about being focused on every tiny decision, but they are your decisions, and they reflect on you either badly if done poorly, or well, if done properly.

We all get lazy with the small insignificant thoughts surrounding decisions and opt for the quick and easy. Then, often, we have to re-trace our steps and re-think it and implement a different decision which all takes up precious time and energy. It also makes us moody because we suddenly feel insecure and embarrassed.

Tenacity is my gig in life. I live it, breath it, and write about it a lot. It’s the basis for my keynotes and breakout sessions. I’ve never been a rock star at anything and had to work hard for everything I’ve accomplished in life…and that took tenacity. I’m still learning how to not procrastinate and make decisions in the moment that have quality and class, I guess it will be a lifelong endeavor. And that’s okay as long as I feel I’m making progress.

This year has been particularly straining with breaking both ankles skiing in December to the knee replacement three weeks ago. That combination has pushed me to my limits and then some. But, the character trait of tenacity is strong in me, it makes me feel good when I push through a difficulty with success, so I want to do it again.

There is the reward. Feeling good about myself gives me confidence that I can tackle lots of physical, business, and emotional challenges with gusto and keep on smiling. The more you do it the easier it becomes, but you’ve got to celebrate the small successes along the way to recognize your hard work and the outcome you were seeking.

Remember that tenacity is like any other muscle , it must be exercised to function properly, so do it daily on big and small tasks, you be glad you did!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Do You Rehearse Your Presentations?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 20:14:16 GMT

Photo credit: Product School on Unsplash.com

Do You Rehearse Your Presentations?

As any seasoned financial services professional will tell you, your ultimate success is in your preparation. Do you rehearse your presentation in advance, if so, how do you do it?

· Do you practice flipping the pages as if you were seated in front of your client?

· Do you use a PowerPoint with a projector and screen?

· Do you anticipate the objections or questions in advance to be prepared to answer them?

· Do you build in testimonials and a request for referrals?

As with any thing, keeping it simple and direct is best. The more complicated the more difficult it is for the client to grasp concepts. Obviously, staying within compliance rules helps you guide your prospect to a successful conclusion.

We can all learn what works and what doesn’t from our presentations, keep track of where clients always seem to ask questions to see how you can improve to make it more understandable.

I always liked PowerPoint because it let me control the pace and direction of the interview. I could show flow charts, investment details, projected results in easy to read and digest ways.

To that end I would give the whole presentation without anyone in the room. I found typos, places where I needed simplification, and gained confidence moving from slide to slide after several rehearsals. I knew what slides were coming next and what my transition would look like in advance.

Understanding your client and their needs will help you decide which presentation style will work best for them. Rehearsing will make you look sharp and organized.

If you don’t like speaking in front of groups, join a Toastmasters club near you to learn the basics and advanced techniques for giving a good speech. They are a good resource for beginners or those uncomfortable with public speaking.

This process is full of ways to test your tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose with your client and your presentations.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

So, I Had Knee Replacement Surgery!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 24 May 2022 21:51:32 GMT

Photo credit: National Cancer Institute

So, I Had Knee Replacement Surgery!

Yup, after breaking both ankles in a skiing accident in December, I decided to get my knees replaced eight weeks apart. I found that I had an over-abundant supply of tenacity and resilience and what better way to apply them than through a round of surgery!

My trusty surgical team sliced me open last Thursday and I’ve not felt like writing my blog until today when a strange thing happened…well, strange for me. I didn’t sleep well last night, getting up for the bathroom and pain meds, so after a Zoom call at 8 am, I went back to bed hoping to recoup some the lost hours snoozing.

I think I did drop off for a few minutes but was awakened with an annoying itch on the bottom of my right foot . The more I scratched at with the toes of my left foot, the more insistent it became until I was angry. Angry at my self-inflicted surgery, angry at the pain meds that knocked me for a loop, angry at being 74 and my body changing in not so good ways.

I was angry at my inability to work at my steady pace, get my blog out, run errands, make marketing phone calls, etc. So, I threw the blankets off my legs, grabbed my walker, grumbling to myself that this isn’t me, I don’t do this, I bounce back and do what needs to be done.

I had a small to-do list of things that I wanted to accomplish this week even with a big ice bag on my knee with an ace bandage holding it in place. I knew that if they were to get done, I’d have to swallow my pride and ask for some assistance.

When you are at the mercy of a slow recovery period and have a type A personality you have to make concessions. One of them is asking for help . I would rather walk on broken glass than ask for help…really! But I have great friends who stepped up and ran a couple of errands for me, picked up a few things I needed and with a small visit with each one, I got to see friends, and cheer myself up. Sometimes resilience comes in the form that we least expect. I generally bounce back quickly, but to get angry this morning was unexpected.

Years ago, when he was at the top of his game and fame, Lance Armstrong said in one of his interviews, that finding anger in a bike race was energizing and he would capitalize on it. Maybe that’s what happened to me, I don’t know, but it definitely motivated me to get up and get goin’!

I’m in no way advocating that you go out and get angry at someone to get your energy up. But you can get angry at yourself for not having the imagination and tenacity to push yourself harder to get finished the purpose you’re after. I’m the biggest baby when I’m sick or injured and I need to kick myself in the pants occasionally to get the motor running.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith......

There Has Never Been a Better Time to Be an Employee and Show Off Your Excellence

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sat, 14 May 2022 20:53:37 GMT

Photo credit LinkedIn Sales Solutions

There Has Never Been a Better Time to Be an Employee and Show Off Your Excellence!

Given the current state of our economy and businesses in dire need of workers, someone with great tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose can quickly make a name for themselves.

Taking advantage of the shortage combined with your ability to stand out from the crowd should be a no-brainer…this climate is perfect for the individual who wants to fast track their career. This goes for workers in the trades and professionals alike .

Employers are starved for employees with good work ethics and character traits who are trainable and sustainable. Employers invest a lot in training a new employee and if they jump ship for another job that money is gone…this is an expensive proposition. For employees who know what they want in a career and are willing to work for it can put their skills on display quickly.

Having loyalty to the company and a desire to help it grow while you climb the ladder is very attractive to an employer …maybe a little old school to some today. But if you choose wisely and pick a career and company with strong benefits and upward mobility you can excel in style.

I know the idea of staying with one company for a long time isn’t how our college grads are looking at employment right now. With signing bonuses and other perks being offered to new hires it’s easy to see why some people are changing jobs quickly. As much as this might seem like something new, it’s really not. When I entered the financial services industry in the mid-70’s I knew several stockbrokers who would regularly change jobs and take their book of business with them to obtain higher and higher bonuses and salaries. Eventually, this practice faded as they realized that the employee wasn’t adding to their book as rapidly any longer and bringing in new business.

As we learn how to work post-COVID with remote and in-person jobs and the workforce settles down in their careers I think employers and employees will re-discover that having the TRIP traits is as important as it always has been . Those folks with these skills will rise to the top and excel. Strong TRIP skills will always be in demand because they are foundational to a good employee. Learning how to use them at the right time, in the right way will always garner attention, more money and praise.

But be humble about it. This isn’t a time to toot your own horn too loudly, just work hard and bring results that can’t be ignored. Keep your sense of humor and be happy in your work, this also makes you a great candidate for advancement. If you can get your foot in the door, show off your excellence, maybe you’ll own the company one day.

Lastly, remember my Tenacity Creed:

· Admit that you want it!

· Be willing to work for it!

· Know that disappointment is a distinct possibility!

· Do it anyway!

· Repeat!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith……

When Do You Just Give Up Trying?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sat, 07 May 2022 21:39:05 GMT

Photo Credit: Johnny Cohen of Unsplash.com

When Do You Just Give Up Trying?

I know that most of the time, I write here in this blog about positivity, moving forward with gusto and verve, but what happens when you’ve given a project or prospective client everything that should have led to success, and it just isn’t happening?

So often our business culture pushes beyond our normal boundaries because that’s supposedly what truly successful people do, right? Well, maybe not.

During my long career in the financial services industry, there were many times that I felt that if I’d stuck with a prospect just a little longer, came up with a unique strategy or product to meet their needs I would have been rewarded in the end with a contract. Sometimes it worked, most often it didn’t. Why?

There are a lot of reasons why some deals fall through:

· Competition is stiff

· Pricing doesn’t fit their budget

· Personalities clash

· Market changes

· Different benefits

This list could go on for several pages because in the end, you can’t please everyone.

My purpose with this blog is to help people find how they can use tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose to find a way to fulfillment, freedom, and fun in business and in life. But (you knew there had to be a but, right?) the reality of many situations is that you aren’t going to satisfy your prospect in some small way, that someone else will.

This goes for personal relationships as well. Have you ever lost a friendship that wasn’t a good fit for you or the other person? Sure, you have, it’s part of life and it can be hard to accept. We often want someone badly, but they aren’t into you. There was a rom/com movie that came out in 2009 called “He’s Just Not That Into You”. It was funny and real. You lose someone that you had your heart set on, but if you are patient, a new someone comes along and takes their place…the same applies in business.

If you keep enough prospects in the pipeline, when one fails to materialize, the next one just might go through. Sales started out as a numbers game and that’s still the case, in business and your love life.

Are there cases where my TRIP Technique™ will succeed? Of course, I can remember many situations where I went the extra mile and got the sale because I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel. When that isn’t the case, you don’t really give up so much as, you move on to the next possibility.

Remember, that in business, you are building relationships that will last and be strong, filled with repeat business, and referrals. In personal relationships, we are all looking for that partner who will stand by our side through thick and thin and they are harder to find, but oh so worth it in the long run.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion, mine!

Keith……

How to Control the Power of Internal Dialogue!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 22:10:33 GMT

Photo credit: Brad Barmore of Unsplash.com

How to Control the Power of Internal Dialogue!

The power of my TRIP Technique ™ lies in the God given character traits of tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose . We’ve all got them. Do we always use them? No. Why not? Therein lies the rub.

We humans are a lazy bunch by in large. We’ve got powers way beyond our imagination, but it’s like setting a New Year’s Resolution…by January 10 ^th they are a distant memory.

The one place that we have super control is in our internal dialogue. More often than not we let it run away with itself in a negative way, and that’s damaging to our self-esteem, ego, pride, and weakens the innate ability to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off from a recent fail, and be resilient.

Internal dialogue prevents us from reaching our goals by telling us that we aren’t good enough to reach them, that we don’t have enough knowledge, that our competition is so much better than us…and on, and on, and on it goes until we believe it. Well, don’t believe it. Believe in yourself and your abilities!

The power of our traits can be utilized if we:

· Exercise our Tenacity muscle every day, by choosing to be strong and accountable.

· Look for the adventure in all that we do with a sense of curiosity.

· Look for the humor in our actions and outcomes to reduce the stress.

· Always keep our goals in mind and seek fulfillment, freedom, and fun!

· Learn to ask ourselves and our clients better questions for better solutions.

· Are on the lookout for new methodology to improve our organizational development.

These steps and many more that I’m sure you can come up with help us control the internal dialogue and keep it positive. Take it one step at a time until it becomes habit. You won’t backslide nearly as often once it is.

I’ve mentioned this before, but have you ever watched a ski racer before they race? They are standing alone, eyes closed, their hands moving from side to side in front of them skiing the course in their mind. They can see every turn, every place to increase speed, and how long they can hold a mid-air tuck to stay aerodynamic…all in their mind. And they see themselves doing it in spectacular fashion, winning, throwing their arms in the air in success!

It's all in our minds. We have the traits to control our minds and control our outcomes on our journey to the top . We only have to use daily them to make them habitual.

Use the steps above to help you control your thoughts and you will be off to a great start.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

It’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith……

How to Build a Culture of Resilience Into Your Business

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 01:23:11 GMT

Photo credit: Redd of Unsplash.com

How to Build a Culture of Resilience Into Your Business

I’m always doing research t o find out how businesses and individuals are using my TRIP system without even knowing it. This past weekend I found an article at Positive Psychology that added to my list of ideas.

You might have noticed in this blog that I focus on tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose and as such have used this space to help others find these character traits and use them effectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the global community to look at how we could become masters of resilience. With non-productive and insufferable lock-down's, intolerable masks, questionable jabs and loss of freedoms resilience had to rise to the surface of importance. Humanity had no other choice.

Resilience has that special quality which allows some to become stellar leaders giving confidence to those who follow their lead. This then enables them all to overcome the challenges they face to grow, profit, and advance their individual and business goals with style and grace.

Viewing yourself and your abilities in a positive light became paramount if you were to survive and thrive. In doing so, you had to also take care of yourself through exercise, good nutrition, recreation, and mindfulness. All done in an atmosphere of fear.

I recently gave a speech to an Organizational Development Group chapter, and I focused on how their tenet skills played an important role in leading the way with resilience. Being organized gave them a leg up on “process” which led to resilient outcome.

My readers here have learned that using relaxation techniques to calm the fevered brow were wonderfully useful over the past two years because they found out that burning scented candles, soft music, short walks, and meditation strengthened their resilience while making it more pleasant and endurable.

Above all, it was taking decisive action to move you forward to your “realistic” goals that proved to be the most effective because you saw your ideas become reality in a time when it was difficult just to get out of your pajamas for a Zoom call . Being strong and aggressive in your leadership and goals set high expectations that others needed to be resilient themselves.

Building all of these ideas into the culture of your business is only good business sense. You and your team will have a happier and more productive atmosphere to which you will look forward to working in each day. They will also provide you with answers to your hiring and retention issues.

Lastly, my TRIP Technique ™ Assessment will help you score your team to find their strengths and weaknesses in each of the character traits so you can effectively train new members while invigorating existing ones with new vitality.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith……

Purpose + Volunteering=Pride

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 22:09:07 GMT

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Purpose + Volunteering=Pride

One of the biggest parts of TRIP is the “P” for purpose. They are all important but as I say in my keynotes and workshops, the “P” is the glue that holds everything together. Part of that glue is the ability to step outside yourself and see the world through different eyes.

As with anything connected with our business or personal lives volunteering is a way to feel good about giving back, sharing efforts toward a common goal, and meeting new people with new ideas. Purpose is what drives our lives in many respects; it’s why we get up in the morning and perform at our best to reap what we sow and improve our lives and those of others.

I’ve often touted in this blog that you can have many purposes to reach that goal of a life rich with fulfillment, freedom, and fun.

Over the years I’ve volunteered with many organizations and always came away with a strong sense of accomplishment. Many businesses now offer ways to get credit at work for hours spent on a volunteer project. Employers who recognize the positive results that come from being attached to a charity or other volunteering activity gain respect from the employees and the community as a whole.

The easiest way to get started is to tie your volunteering to an activity that you already do like charity rides on your bicycle, or 5k/10k runs, or trail cleaning while hiking. If you like to build things there’s Habitat for Humanity where you can put your construction skills to work. If you like to cook soup kitchens always need help not just at the Holidays.

Some of my friends have taken the whole paradigm of volunteering to a life occupation and now work for those organizations that satisfy their need for a job and helping others.

TRIP has wonderful aspects in it for both work and charity . It takes tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose to make all aspects of your life function at a higher level. Once you adopt the TRIP philosophy it serves you well, believe me. I’ve lived it for a long time now and love how it improves my outlook and my performance.

Find a way to volunteer today and you will see your life in a different way.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

"Building Tenacity” Podcast With Michael Kay

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 20:15:15 GMT

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“Building Tenacity” Podcast With Michael Kay

Every once in a while, an opportunity comes along that grabs your attention and you have to take advantage of it. That was the case a month or two ago when I connected with Michael Kay of “Change X”. We communicated and found that we had a lot in common and he invited me to be a guest on his podcast…what a joy it turned out to be! Michael has hit all of the major outlets with his information and he lists The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Psychology Today, and Forbes among them.

Michael works with men in work/life transition . That covers a lot of territory but it homes in on transition from our work life to semi or full retirement . This is an important topic in the age we are living in. Many boomers like me have had to make this difficult journey and it’s very refreshing to have Michael educating men about the pitfalls and difficulties they may encounter. My own story of hitting my mid-life and mid-career crisis and going to Nepal to find myself and understand my purpose for the balance of my life was very challenging.

Many men struggle with the decisions that must be made to accommodate not only their own desires, but those of their spouses and loved ones and business partners. Succession planning is often part of this process and should be in the goals of the business before even reaching this phase. Financial planners often also struggle to get business owners to look down the road to this time in life because it doesn't seem important until you reach it, but the sooner you plan the easier it will be when you get there.

My TRIP System and TRIP Technique (TM) Assessment fit Michael Kay's program very well, so we had a lot to talk about. I don’t want to spoil the podcast for your as you will find it very interesting on its own. Please click here or on the image below to hear the podcast.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

Keith......

Enduring the Waiting Game

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 17:02:30 GMT

Photo credit: Zach Rowlandson of Unsplash.com

Enduring the Waiting Game

It’s part of life to wait for things. Standing in line for coffee, at the DMV (which is the butt of many jokes), waiting to pay at the grocery store, healing from injuries and so many more instances. We learn to accept it as a daily occurrence.

Have you ever noticed how time goes fast when things happen quickly and how it drags when you have to wait? Why is that? When I broke my ankles in December while skiing, I knew that it would be six to eight weeks until I would be somewhat normal once again. Actually, it turned out to be closer to 10 weeks but who’s counting!

Of course, minor waiting instances like the grocery store and coffee shop are easy to endure, most of us check our phones for emails and messages to occupy our time and be productive. But, when you are young you want to be older , to get out of college, to get the higher paying jobs, to get married, to have kids, etc. There is always something to look forward to if it would just hurry up and get here for crying out loud!

Some would say that it is hard to follow the principles of my TRIP System when you are impatiently waiting on something to happen. I would say that’s exactly when you should apply them:

· Use tenacity to stay focused on something to pass the time

· Be resilient to not allow yourself to slip into frustration, anger or impatience

· Find your childlike quality of imagination to see the fun in the situation and creatively find the humor in it

· Understand that at that very point in time your actions become your purpose, so you stay positive, on point and ready to move on when the time is right!

I spoke to many Optimist Clubs early in my speaking career, and they have what they call the Optimist Creed , you can read it here . I like how it begins “Promise Yourself”. If you can’t hold a promise to yourself, who can you hold one for? We can all promise to be more mindful, happy, enthusiastic, strong, and patient if we put our minds to it.

TRIP helps us daily to be our best , do our best and to expect only the best. Recognize it, accept it and it will be a part of you. Then you don’t endure the waiting game, you experience it . We are all the sum of our experiences and our attitudes about them.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith……

What Does Being Accountable Mean to You?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 06:53:18 GMT

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What Does Being Accountable Mean to You?

Every Wednesday morning, I meet with four other professional speakers, and we share what we are working on. Then as time passes, we hold each other accountable for what we have said we want to do and how we will try to do it. This started as an accountability group, but it serves as a mastermind group too from time to time.

We’ve worked together in this fashion for several years now before the pandemic and now beyond. It’s been fascinating to watch the growth, successes, and failures that we have all gone through. We discuss ways to make hybrid presentations as effective as possible, how to use the latest software and technology to our advantage and keep our fingers crossed that one day soon all meetings will be in person once again.

It has been a process to learn how to work together, listen to constructive criticism , report on our results and findings, and to press on…always to press on, never giving up, only changing course as advice and the market dictate.

Mastermind or accountability groups are rewarding, humbling, and helpful if they are civil, honest, and forthright. The creativity that has come out of mine has been nothing less than stellar. I trust these men and value their input weekly. Since I’ve been publishing this blog, I’ve stressed that value of mastermind groups because of my firsthand knowledge of how they help motivate and encourage you along your path. I always leave mine energized and ready to kick myself into high gear and create, market, and deliver.

But what do you do if you don’t have this kind of ongoing accountability? You can form your own group of course but understand it can be tricky. Getting the right mix of personalities is hard. We lucked out and got a great group. We’ve all gone different directions at times and the same direction on other projects. We’ve agreed and disagreed on points of view on many topics which only makes it more interesting.

You should be held accountable for the fulfillment of your obligations to the group and to yourself. We use a form that we complete each week before we meet to bring everyone up to date on our individual progress and results. The form is one simple way to be accountable and responsible. You can download a copy here. Adjust it to fit your needs.

This group, it’s mission and weekly goals are for me a part of following my TRIP system. I must be tenacious to be accountable, to be resilient after I get less than positive constructive feedback, to always fall back on my imagination for new ways to move forward and never lose sight of my purpose to serve my audiences in the best ways possible…with entertaining and educational keynotes and breakout sessions.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

"The Guy in the Mirror"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 20:34:29 GMT

Photo credit: Elisa Ph of Unsplash.com

The Guy in The Mirror”

Where do you find inspiration? It’s a fair question that many of must answer regularly. Many of you could reply with:

· Music

· Motivational podcasts and speakers

· A respected family member or public figure

· Someone who has faced and conquered a life altering challenge

· Maybe it’s the “guy in the mirror”

Inspiration is where we find encouragement, enthusiasm, and motivation to move us off dead center and take action on our lives and goals.

Inspiration also comes from purpose. We can find revelations in our purpose that propel us to step outside our comfort zones and tackle a difficult challenge. Purpose helps us set expectations where we not only expect to reach a goal, but we look to what we will do when it’s achieved.

When you expect to have something go your way you work to make sure it does. There is power in your confidence and commitment that assures you of success. It may look a little different when you get there because of adjustments you made along the way, but if the outcome is as planned, you can claim success.

Inspiration can also come from your imagination. We often daydream and let our imagination run away with our thoughts because it’s fun and often fruitful. My imagination is one of my strongest traits and I’m grateful for it. I let it run loose to see where it will take me and how it might give me new ideas, concepts and ways to accomplish something new and fun.

Imagination, purpose, and inspiration go together very well complementing tenacity and resilience in the overall scheme of things.

These positive character traits are our strength and over time provide us with wisdom stemming from life experiences that taught us what works and what doesn’t. By relying on them, we grow as individuals. It’s in that growth that we become the “guy in the mirror” that we want to be and admire with self-love. Loving who you have become and trusting in your decisions comes with time and a lot of trial and error. It’s not an instant gratification result as much as we would like it to be.

If you make self-love a purpose and work toward it with tenacity, resilience, and imagination you will love the outcome. You will find fulfillment, freedom, and fun awaiting you.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime!

It’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Recovery Hurts So Good!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 21:35:38 GMT

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Recovery Hurts So Good!

As many of you know I’ve been recovering from two broken ankles from a skiing accident in December. The recovery has been long and filled with new experiences, most of which I won’t share with you, lol! But I said I would have to walk the walk (pun intended) and not just talk the talk of my TRIP System because I had no choice.

The current level of recovery is in the resilience phase as I bounce back in the gym. I’ve always been a bit of a gym rat joining my first one after returning from Vietnam in 1971. There is great satisfaction in taking care of my body, staying in shape, and performing at my best physically.

After I was able to graduate from the walking boots to the lace-up braces, I headed back to exercising as quickly as the pain would let me. I started with a strap system called TRX that I could do at home and a couple of weeks ago started going back to the gym for real leg exercises. I won’t lie, it was hard getting the muscles, ligaments and joints through what used to be a breeze of a session. Ironically, there is great enjoyment in the hurt that feels so good. The soreness that follows a good workout is a reminder that we are doing something right and to keep going.

During my recovery, I had lost muscle mass, muscles and ligaments were stiff and my joints complained at every step. I was disappointed after my first session as I saw how far I had to go. Resilience is definitely a learned trait both physically and mentally. I knew that I could do the routines I have done for years, but my body had different ideas and they were challenging.

Like our bodies that need to exercise regularly to keep muscle memory fresh, our psyche needs to put resilience to the test frequently so we can react with a positive vision and purpose. Being resilient in the face of any challenge can be daunting and scary, but if we visualize the outcome we want and the steps to get there it’s easier to tackle.

Being resilient in business facing things like the pandemic, world economic woes, supply chain difficulties, wars abroad, even higher gas prices and inflation make the thought of bouncing back laughable at times. And if that’s what it takes, find the humor in it and charge on anyway. In my keynotes and breakout sessions I offer my Tenacity Creed to help my audiences in tough times…it applies to bouncing back with resilience as well:

THE TENACITY CREED

· Admit that you want it!

· Be willing to work for it! (Bounce back)

· Know that disappointment is a distinct possibility!

· Do it anyway! (Bounce back again)

· Repeat!

Markets will rise and they will fall, clients will be happy, and they won’t, planning will go according to plan and then they fall apart due to circumstances out of our control… stay strong and look for the adventure to keep your enthusiasm and energy in the game because you will make it through.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion, mine!

Keith……

Give Me 6-Minutes and I'll Give You Four Steps to Building a Culture of Tenacity

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 23:56:06 GMT

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Four Steps to Building a Culture of TRIP!

We hear a lot about how many of our treasured cultures in America are under attack and withering under pressure to be more sustainable & inclusive. Well, you can’t be more inclusive and not destroy anything by building a culture of TRIP in your life and business.

Since TRIP stands for tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose it applies to everyone working to better their lives and their businesses. There are four ways, like TRIP itself, to implement a culture that is strong, flexible, and enduring:

1. LEADERSHIP Be the leader in your life who helps those around you to be tenacious and never give up . The strength of a true leader lies in their ability to illustrate how tenacity and resilience can lift everyone up to the tasks at hand and successfully complete them. Teach your crew through example, direction, and explanation,

2. COMMUNICATION To clearly state your purpose is so vital to employees and clients. When they understand your mission without reservation the path to success for all involved will be seen and accepted. All that is required then is follow through with enthusiasm and energy.

3. ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Critical to all organizations is in the planning and implementation of your vision. Utilizing the imagination created by mastermind groups within the management structure ensures that the plan is well thought out down to the minute details, so implementation can flow smoothly with a clear understanding of the goal at hand.

4. CUSTOMER SUPPORT Finally, giving the front-line employee the ability and power to satisfy the customer in flexible common-sense ways builds a visible culture to your public image. This is essential in extending your TRIP culture up and down within your organization and builds trust in your team from the ultimate buyer. That trust will earn referrals and repeat business second to none.

The TRIP Technique Assessment™ enables you:

· to build with confidence,

· promote with ease,

· and hire and retain employees who will be on the same page as you, their leader.

Gather your team, set goals utilizing the cultural philosophy of TRIP , and then educate everyone on how it works inside and outside your business to benefit all involved. Yes, this will take a little time, but excellence comes with practice and the TRIP mantra of freedom, fulfillment, and fun !

If you would like me to give a workshop or keynote to your organization on how to build a culture of TRIP, please contact me and we will custom design a program just for you!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

Keith……

In the TRIP Technique Assessment™, What are Passive, Active & Super-Active?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 16:37:03 GMT

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In the TRIP Technique Assessment™, What are Passive, Active & Super-Active?

It dawned on me in the middle of the night that for those of you who haven’t taken my TRIP Technique Assessment ™ might not know how you get scored, so let’s discuss the program and how you can use it.

When I had a moment of innovation last summer the Assessment idea was conceived. It took the next three months working with a professional in the industry to scientifically develop the questions, the scoring algorithm, and post exam suggested practices to improve your score. The six answers from “strongly disagree to strongly agree” give each test taker the ability to relate their feelings about the question as closely as possible.

We tried to give definitions to each word in TRIP that would be easily understood:

TENACITY: The ability to keep on trying & pushing forward even when outcomes are uncertain
RESILIENCE: The ability to bounce back & get stronger through life's peaks and valleys
IMAGINATION: The ability to be creative and resourceful even in difficult times
PURPOSE: Knowing the "why and how" of your life and how to apply it daily.

We struggled on what to name the three levels of results and after much discussion passive, active and super-active were settled upon. They really do give an accurate description of the levels by illustrating how each participant viewed the questions. By keeping it simple and only having these three indicators you will be able to see your positioning easily and more importantly see quickly how you can incorporate them into your life. Let's explain them this way:

· PASSIVE: You have the ability to use this character trait, but you never or rarely do.

· ACTIVE: You have the ability and skills to use this character trait, but only use it occasionally.

· SUPER-ACTIVE: You have the ability, mindset & skills to use this character trait and use it often very effectively.

When you are strong in T.R.I.P., across all four elements, you are able to:

Perform at your peak
Tackle any challenge that comes your way with more ease and less stress
Create success across your work and personal life
Stand out as a valuable partner to your team and clients
Differentiate yourself in your marketplace

If you’ve thought of taking our Assessment, I would encourage you to do so to elevate your communication, leadership and relationship skills . We do have group or association rates and include the assessment in my speaking contracts.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime!

Any way you look at it, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine!

Keith……

Tenacity and Resilience are a Powerful Combination

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 22:45:12 GMT

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Tenacity and Resilience are a Powerful Combination

If you’ve been following my blog the past six weeks you know that I had a skiing accident that resulted in fractures in both ankles. It’s been an arduous journey back to full recovery that is still forthcoming. But, learning how to use TRIP in my daily life has been such a perfect solution.

In our financial business lives utilizing both tenacity and resilience in difficult times can be a game changer. The financial markets have really been on a roller-coaster ride during the first month of 2022 with the huge increase in inflation, the worsening of the supply chain, international tensions in the Ukraine and Taiwan, ongoing COVID-19 and its variants, and tenuous job creation and employee retention challenges. Combined with the Fed’s upcoming program of rate increases to temper inflation the markets have a lot to brace for.

We have a rough year ahead with all of the aforementioned challenges to deal with. So how do we handle the stress, pressure, and constant change? With tenacity and resilience of course, what else did you expect me to say? LOL!

Both character traits give us the ability to be flexible but strong, creative but focused, energetic but realistic , and grounded in fundamentals that have served the industry well for decades.

People still need financial planning, estate planning, insurance, retirement plans, college plans, etc. The needs haven’t gone away because the markets are roiled. Invest for the long haul and plan accordingly for the ups and downs.

Being tenacious and resilient with both your team and clients provides solid leadership and communication in tough times that is rewarded with referral business, great testimonials, and successful annual reviews. Remember to always be tenacious in looking for the new, the innovative and visionary solutions that help the bounce of resilience to be successful. Keep your integrity high with ethical standards that are second to none. And always remember that the best way to communicate is with stories that people can relate to, to give them confidence in you and your plans. All of this will build a loyal and consistent following as you become more and more influential.

I hope this has given you a boost for a new month, remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end it’s one man’s opinion, mine.

Keith……

How to Find Happiness Alone

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 22:05:38 GMT

Photo credit: Bruce Mars of Unsplash.com

How to Find Happiness Alone

One of the benefits of focusing on TRIP (tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose) is that your happiness evolves to a higher leve l. We look at what we do in life more critically to make sure that it brings us joy rather than difficulty.

Bringing your daily thoughts in line with TRIP allows you to see opportunities where you can apply its principles. There is a spiritual energy surrounding the ability to slow down with meditation that takes your imagination to a more eloquent and creative space. We create more synapses in the brain to function better and make us more productive.

Happiness comes to us in many forms through releasing worry. Worry is counter-productive because we focus on what might happen. By letting go of it during meditation we see the possibilities of new paths, new ideas and directions. Then our imagination kicks in by supplying ways to make them fulfilled. All of this is done to give you the guidance and support you are looking for. Mediation slows your brain down, eliminates chaos, returns focus, and thus makes you happier in the moment.

I was guest speaker on a podcast this morning with a young lady in Kiev Ukraine and at one point I said that "I love being a happy guy". I don’t know that I’ve ever said that out loud. But when we were done, I sat thinking about the interview and I suddenly realized that I AM a happy guy almost all the time. Have I always been that way and haven’t thought about it much? I think so. It’s my personality to be jovial and in my nature to look for people who are happy too.

With my recent skiing accident there were days when I woke up feeling a little sorry for myself. After several weeks stuck in my home unable to drive, walk easily and work it was probably only natural to have some down moments, but I used my imagination to lift my spirits by making marketing phone calls, drafting my next newsletter article and working with my virtual assistant Wendy.

There are always ways to change your mindset, but you must focus on something like TRIP to help you get there, to raise your vibration from sullen to happy. It also helps if you can laugh at yourself in the process. There were so many quirky things that have happened over the past few weeks that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at something I did.

Writing these things down in my journal helped me. I could see them as what they were, something that I had to overcome and build on to get back to a normal life. Use your imagination to help you find ways to elevate your happiness and bring life into focus once again. Clarity has a way of making life more understandable and desirable.

By using TRIP daily and making it a habit you will find that you are a happier more productive person ready for adventure of freedom, fulfillment, and fun!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the end, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

Is It Impatience or Is It Resilience?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 21:31:57 GMT

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Is It Impatience or Is It Resilience?

As I’ve gone through my recovery from my skiing accident, I think I’ve experienced both. Now, in my sixth week and using walking braces instead of the cumbersome boots I find impatience edging its way into my thinking more and more. Finally, I will get out and drive for the first time tomorrow, I’m both excited and filled with trepidation!

I think it’s normal to be in a hurry to get back to life as I knew it. I want to be active again and I’m more than enthusiastic to get started working. Resilience is that ability to be excited, to put a plan into action and bounce back with confidence in the outcome.

Many of us struggle with confidence in times of stress at home but succeed well with it at work. Work has a more defined set of rules and goals, whereas relationships are often more emotional and difficult to get a clear grasp of.

In both cases communication key. Being willing to be vulnerable in that communication is hard but achievable. Understanding that not everyone bounces back at the same rate, with the same communication skills or openness to share is also paramount. This is not the time to be impatient with others.

As a leader at work , you might suggest that everyone pair up at work and combine their efforts to lessen the stress. Remember that in doing so you will have to deal with personality issues but if everyone is ready to confront their fears and be willing to share the results could be spot on and lift all involved to a new level of teamwork.

With your home relationships it’s easy to become impatient and try to dominate the outcome with “at work” solutions. Bouncing back from stress in a relationship takes a different tack all together. Communication on a personal level involves more mindfulness and forgiveness to move the problem into solution mode and make both parties comfortable to be vulnerable.

I know couples who pray and meditate together to find the common ground with a problem. This brings the stress levels down, decreases emotion and allows both parties to express their fears. Help each other to be assertive and take charge of certain aspects of the problem so you work together toward the goal.

I’m trying to keep my impatience under control and bounce back in areas that are already available to me like this blog. I’ve started making marketing phone calls for my speaking now that my energy is returning, and I should be able to start recording videos for my YouTube channel soon once I’m able to walk with confidence and set up lights, camera, etc.

You wouldn’t believe how wobbly you get when you break both ankles, the tendons, muscles, and ligaments were all stretched and need to reset and strengthen before I will be able to walk well let alone run. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to hop on my bicycle trainer and pedal soon, what a relief that will be. I’m starting to gain weight and some exercise would help me with that. Yes, I know that the afternoon Snickers isn’t helping, but eating, watching TV, and computer work is all I’ve got for now!

Well, before I start whining, I’ll sign off, so remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not of a lifetime.

Stay patient and resilient, and communicate with heart, and you will be fine.

In the end it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

“It’s Been a Long and Winding Road”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 19:32:35 GMT

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“It’s Been a Long and Winding Road”

In the Beatles song “Let it Be” John Lennon starts out singing about a long and winding road to love, well for me it was a long and winding road to recovery these past four weeks. You may recall that on December 20 ^th I had a skiing accident that left me with two broken ankles and the time since then has also been like another song by the Grateful Dead “What a Long Strange TRIP it’s Been”. So much for the song metaphors, but they reflect my journey well.

I wrote in a blog shortly after the accident that I was going to have my TRIP skills tested over the following weeks and they surely were. My tenacity made me want to work, but I was so exhausted most of the time that my focus was diminished. I wanted to do my usual TRIP Tip videos but that unfortunately required more work than I was prepared to do.

Over the last four weeks I’ve learned how to do sponge baths since I couldn’t get into a shower or tub. I learned how to sleep on a couch with my feet elevated in the cumbersome walking boots. I didn’t want to take the prescription drugs for pain, so I relied on over the counter solutions that worked remarkably well and helped me sleep. I meditated daily to relax and focus on my healing. This also brought me closer to God, my spirituality, and some changes that I feel will benefit me in the future.

I had to be resilient and imaginative in learning how to change my clothes, shave, and cook the many dishes brought by neighbors and friends…thank goodness for microwaves!

In week three I finally got to see an orthopedic surgeon and found out that I wouldn’t need surgery because the bones had realigned perfectly and were healing well…wow, what a relief!

Eventually, in the fourth week the walking became less painful and easier, so I ventured up stairs to my bedroom for a good night’s sleep on my bed. But, even then the Velcro on the boots stuck to the covers and kept waking me up as I tried in vain to get comfortable. I learned that going downstairs backwards was easier and safer because I could see my feet and hold on to the railing.

My purpose was to heal and get back to my normal active life, but everything told me to slow down, learn from the experience and gain personal insight to the trials and tribulations of those who suffer with these types of inabilities daily. Slowing down was never in the cards for me as I love to be on the go a lot. But I had to depend on neighbors, friends, and family to help me daily for which I’m ever so grateful.

It has indeed been both a long and winding road and a long, strange trip, but I’m nearing that light at the end of the tunnel each day. Tomorrow I start using ankle braces and the walking boots will hopefully be history. That will open the door to driving and short walks for the mail, etc.

Yes, if you’re wondering, I’m available for virtual speaking events currently and should be able to add hybrid with travel in a couple of weeks.

I’ve had the opportunity to examine my life, goals, and purposes with extra time on my hands and I’ll be sharing what I’ve learned there in the next blog. For now, I’m grateful for you, my readers with whom I can share my thoughts with and hopefully help along the way as well.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not of a lifetime.

Stay tenacious my friends!

Keith……

Learning to Wait

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 10 Jan 2022 19:00:08 GMT

Photo credit: Duane Mendes of Unsplash.com

"Learning to Wait"

For some time, I’ve been wanting to write a more philosophical blog and today I feel I have the words. If you think about TRIP and how it is applicable to your daily life then you should find this topic relevant.

Learning to wait for things is a trait that many of us struggle with, hence the term instant gratification. We humans must wait for lots of things every day and slowly get accustomed to them, like traffic jams, the lines at our favorite coffee house and grocery store. As adults we’ve trained ourselves to be patient, to occupy ourselves with our phones, listening to music or work on our calendars to pass the time and be productive. This helps us to stay civil at times when we are in a hurry and frustrated. We learn to be kind but tenacious, loving but resilient.

Other experiences are less easy to control, like waiting for God to give us what we are asking for daily. Buddha would tell you that having desires or expectations is detrimental to your psyche so don’t set them and you will live a happy life. I don’t know about you but that doesn’t work quite so well in my modern society, although I can appreciate the sentiment.

In the world of the Law of Attraction and cause and effect, the theory is that the more you push for something the more it backs away. Therefore, you must “act as if you already have” your desires to attract them. You want a relationship with a certain individual, don’t press them but wait instead for God to act on your behalf. Now, there is the other side of the coin that states that you must take action to help the Universe see your intent and edge things closer to you. But for many of us who are more impatient the old Rolling Stones song said this best “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction!”

We are all in a hurry to get everything we want, right? But, as many would say, if you had it all what would you strive for? What would make life worth living? Having everything you desire would be pretty boring, I think. So, this is when your imagination and purpose should come to the forefront of your life planning.

Waiting. It’s a concept that we struggle with because we are thinking about the future rather than living our lives in the moment and letting God move about his tasks of answering our prayers with divine timing.

Divine timing is that wonderfully ethereal notion filled with synchronicity and coincidences which are rich with pleasurable emotions and experiences. Like, just when you thought that your special someone had disappeared from your life a certain set of circumstances arise that allows them to cross your path. Pay attention to these occurrences they are signs that things are working in your favor and your desires are about to become reality.

It’s when we force things to happen that we push them away. Being excited to wait is almost an oxymoron, right? But, if you were enthused to see how things would play out if you did wait, life just might be more fun to watch unfold.

Sure, you have to clearly state your desires and intentions because they are energy just like everything else in the universe. Like attracts like as the saying goes, so have good energy and you will attract the good energetic things that you desire. Meditate on them to make them visually real in your mind and solidify them as true desires.

Applying TRIP daily helps you wait with intention and spirit and makes life an adventure.

In the end it’s all about faith and trust…sorry! LOL!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime not of a lifetime.

Any way you look at it, it’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Keith……

“You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 28 Dec 2021 19:14:07 GMT

TRIP Tip “You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me!”

Just before the joyous Christmas holidays, I was severely injured in a skiing accident. I was doing something that I had done hundreds of times before, but this time in skiing jargon I “caught and edge” and crashed. In the hours that followed, I discovered my boots weren’t tight enough and the ski bindings didn’t release. Therefore, I broke both of my ankles. Yup, both of them. Think about that for a second.

· Being a type A personality, single and living alone in a two-story home, my constantly busy lifestyle was suddenly in jeopardy, and I was forced to rely on others for things I could normally do easily for myself.

· I couldn’t drive much less walk, so running errands, luncheons and appointments were out.

· I needed the aid of a walker with wheels and a raised toilet (I know, TMI, LOL!), stuff that my 97-year-old father used…at only 74 I wasn’t ready for that lifestyle!

I awoke the next morning to pain I hadn’t experienced in a while, feeling very down and very sorry for myself. My prospects for the next 2-3 months were dim and confusing. Additionally, I had committed to a podcast at 10 am and delivered it in the highest spirits I could muster, thank goodness for extra strength Tylenol & Zoom where no one can see below the waist! Luckily, my son could help me with some things, but he’s got a busy life as well.

On my website and in promotions, I call myself “The Tenacity Expert” and I realized that I had no choice but to walk the walk and talk the talk that I express fervently in my keynotes, YouTube videos and blog postings. This was new territory for me, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how to proceed. Yes, my TRIP Technique ™ was born from an adventurous experience when I became lost in the Himalayas of Nepal, but this was very different. I knew that I exude tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose in my daily life, but how was that going to apply to this predicament?

I wanted to dive right in and make decisions and push hard to keep up a workload that I had become accustomed to. But my body complained! It was suffering from a severe trauma and needed rest, good food and supplements, not more training, weightlifting and cardio on my bike…that was all now a distant dream.

I knew this wasn’t life threatening and I’ve had friends who have had more serious injuries than this, but it hadn’t happened to me in a long time. My age was of concern, how quickly would I recover and to what extent. Too many questions, and right now too few answers.

So here I am writing at 4 o'clock on Christmas morning, wide awake, and frustrated, but I start to realize that my TRIP Technique ™ is going to be my salvation. Everything that I have been speaking and writing about is going to be put to the test personally, in my face, immediately and without reservation. Do I know what that looks like? No, not yet. But I’m going to find out as I go to work laying out my initial game plan.

Over the next few weeks, through my TRIP Tip Newsletter/Video, I’ll take you along on my journey of surgery, recovery, and rehabilitation with what I learn about this new challenge and how to tackle it head on. I hope that what I learn will be of help to you.

Yup, I’m taking a TRIP for a lifetime, this time for myself.

Wish me luck!

Keith……

Goodbye 2021, Hello a New Year!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 22:29:46 GMT

Graphic credit: Wendy Easterling

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

View this episode on YouTube here )

Boy, did this year fly by quickly, I just got used to writing 2021 and now it's almost 2022!

I encourage you to look back to see how you implemented my TRIP Technique ( TM ) during the past year and then plan how to incorporate it into your planning for the upcoming year.

What steps will you take to live a life filled with tenacity?
If need be, how will you be more resilient to overcome challenges?
How will you use your imagination to be more innovative in solving problems?
Are you living your purpose, do you have it written down, do you look at it daily?

Answer these questions as you review 2021 and set goals for 2022 . They may help you to TRIP better in the months to come.

I wish you all safe and happy holidays...see you next year!

Remember to take a TRIP from a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

Keith......

How to Reflect on Your Purpose Each Day

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 19:50:02 GMT

Photo credit: Jamie Street of Unsplash.com

How to Reflect on Your Purpose Each Day

(You can watch this blog on YouTube if you like, click here )

As I look back on the past year and reflect on my purpose numerous things stand out:

I wanted to stay focused and move my business forward.
I wanted to stay focused on my family.
I had the privilege of officiating my son's wedding, I'm so proud of my son and his new bride.
I wanted to strengthen my friendships.
I wanted to stay healthy and strong.
I wanted to stay happy and loving in the face of the pandemic.

I'm very pleased that I accomplished these six things and many more! Did you meet your goals for 2021? Do you feel that your purpose is stronger than a year ago?

Take time to reflect on how you feel about your life and your mission as you prepare for a new year, jot your thoughts down in your journal, and set your sights on a wonderful 2022!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime!

Goodbye!

Keith......

"Do You Focus on Past Mistakes, or on Past Successes?"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 15:46:43 GMT

Photo credit: the blowup on Unsplash.com

"Do You Focus on Past Mistakes, or on Past Successes?"

(To watch the video of this blog post go here .)

Don't listen to the mental chatter that is often so negative. It's so easy to look at current problems through the lens of past failures or mistakes. Living positively in the moment is harder but way more fulfilling and rewarding.

Do these three things to improve your mood:

1. Look at only past successes for inspiration

2. Repeat what you did that was successful then

3. Play the "Pick My Favorite Success" Game for ideas

Focus on your purpose to give you clarity and direction. It will help you stay on course.

Lastly, three things to apply to your process:

1. Look at what makes you happy

2. Look at what make you tick

3. Look at what makes you feel satisfied with fulfillment, freedom, and fun.

Remember to take a TRIP for a Lifetime, not a TRIP of a lifetime!

Keith......

"How to Change My Mindset to Be More Resilient!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 16:50:48 GMT

Photo credit: Suzanne D. Williams of Unsplash.com

"How to Change My Mindset to Be More Resilient!"

(To watch this in video form click here )

When I hit a low point in life or work I quickly switch my mindset from what got me down to thinking about how I am going to move forward. It’s a well-trained muscle from years of practice in the insurance and speaking businesses with all of the ups and downs

To actually pull yourself out of a funk is a learned skill. We have resilience as a built-in character trait, but until it’s been exercised and used it sits under the surface of our personality.

There are three things that are definite “don’ts” when trying to recover from a bout of sadness or depression:

Don’t wallow in your own problem and overthink it
Don’t drink alcohol to brighten your spirits
Don’t sleep too much

Each of these three don’ts are pretty self-explanatory, and none of them will help you feel better and rise above the problem

Three things that will help are:

Get up and move, go for a walk, bike ride or the gym
Listen to music, podcast, or your favorite motivational speaker (ahem!)
Be ever-so grateful for all of the good stuff in your life

There are many ways to exercise your resilience and these do’s and don’ts are a small list of things that you can do, but they have served me well over the years and I hope they help you when you are down.

Lastly, celebrate your small successes. When you hit bottom and are working your way out of the hole, every small step can be celebrated. At the end of a hard day, week, or month, looking back at the string of small triumphs you experienced helps you see the effects of your resilience and give you the confidence to repeat it when you get down the next time.

Well, that’s it for this session, I hope it has helped you see new ways to handle downtimes and implement your resilience strategy the next time.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

Goodbye,

Keith…...

How Do I Become Successful on My Own?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 21:08:53 GMT

TRIP Tip Bonus #9 "How Do I Become Successful on My Own?"

I believe that if I’m to be successful I have to do it on my own. That tenacious attitude has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. I opened my own office in insurance 12-1-1975 and have been self-employed ever since.

What this means for you will be different depending on what stage of your life an career you are at currently.

If you are in the early part of your career , it’s all about education and acquiring knowledge, studying hard and becoming a expert in your field. This takes time and doesn’t happen overnight…you have to be patient but determined. It’s also the time when you will be gaining confidence in yourself and your abilities.

If you are in the middle of your career , you life is all about connections with networking and building your brand for what you will be known for. This is where you build respect with your peers and clients. You have learned how to communicate effectively to all of the people that you have met and are part of your “group”. Your group will refer you to folks who will be able to help you to expand and be successful .

Later in your career , you will have learned how to stay the course when things get tough but being flexible and making relevant adjustments for the times. You will want to look for adventure and spirit to keep your enthusiasm up and focused on your goals. Look for ways to be more creative to reaffirm or adjust your purpose.

Throughout all of these stages of your life and career adopt and the TRIP attitude of “never give up”. Be tenacious, resilient, imaginative and purposeful in all you do, and you can’t help but be successful.

Lastly, this is something I tried to do during my career, split up your day in three-eight-hour segments, eight hours of work, eight hours of play and eight hours of sleep…this will keep you active, rested and happy. Being grateful and happy are fundamental keys to success and I hope you adopt them. I wish you the best in all stages of your life!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

Goodbye!

Keith......

“How to Build Tenacity into My Business?”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 23:54:04 GMT

Photo Credit Austin Distel of Unsplash.com

TRIP Tip Bonus “How to Build Tenacity into My Business?”

(You can view this as a video here .)

Hi, this is Keith Renninson the “Tenacity Expert” here with another blog on my TRIP Technique ™. Remember that TRIP stands for tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose.

Being tenacious is a trait we all have, but in what quantity? How will it show up? Will the employee exhibit it with an air of confidence and in a friendly manner?

You will only answer these questions by observing them in action after you train them in how you want your customers treated.

You build your company piece by piece, person by person, and think that you have conveyed to them your mission and purpose . But are the employees as tenacious in their tasks as you want them to be?

Building trust and loyalty into your business’s culture will help your staff “want” to push the envelope and provide excellent products and service. Going that extra mile isn’t automatically built into the character of each staff member. You need to nurture and grow it.

Training by example , showing how you deliver your service will give them an idea of where to start. Turn them loose and watch.

You could also have them take my TRIP Technique™ Assessment to see how they score at all four traits. That score will give you a leg up on how they potentially will communicate and service your customers.

Showing your confidence in them goes a long way to building loyalty. An employee who becomes confident in their job by being knowledgeable and trusted will be more tenacious because they will understand how you want them to act and deliver.

Being tenacious is fun and adventurous! It’s all about spirit, so let yours show in how you train them. Bring your personality and TRIP traits to the surface. You are the leader, and they will follow your lead with similar enthusiasm if you encourage it.

Tenacity can be learned , and your employees will grow if you keep teaching by example. Be sure to compliment them when they do it the way you want and encourage them to keep it up.

Creating a culture of tenacity also builds trust and loyalty with both your staff and customers…they all know you will work to satisfy their needs while meeting yours.

Well, that’s about it for this session! Keep your thumb on the pulse of your staff, quietly observe and subtly train by example.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime!

Goodbye…

Keith......

TRIP Tip Bonus Imagination in Leadership

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 16:55:52 GMT

Photo credit: Jehyun Sung of Unsplash.com

TRIP Tip Bonus #7

Imagination in Leadership

(To view this blog as a video click here )

To be a great leader takes a lot of different skills is an understatement. There have been countless books written on how to be effective at leadership and most involve ways to help employees do their jobs better with more satisfaction. A happy employee is a productive employee, right?

Getting to that place where leadership is smooth takes a lot of imagination. It’s in tough times when business is slow, or the competition is tight that great leaders emerge. Leaders must use all of the resources available to them. Relying on their team to help them be creative is essential.

The tried-and-true method of brainstorming is a good place to start. As a leader, you might get the marketing ball rolling here with a new vision plan. Consider making a vision board that the team contributes to. If the money is there taking your team on a working retreat weekend to an out-of-the-way place to seriously focus on the problem at hand and come up with new and exciting ideas can be very productive.

Imagination can come from anywhere, so consider bringing in a facilitator or business coach to stir the pot. If the team hears only from their leadership they can get stale, but a new face brings new energy and enthusiasm.

Use your other TRIP skills and be tenacious at finding the right fit, the right vision at the right time, and then don’t give up on planning something new. Be resilient quickly, bouncing back from a downturn with an action plan. Include the front-line workers and the face of the company staff who meet with your customers. Get their input regularly as to what’s working and what’s not. Your leadership enthusiasm is what pushes resilience along and enlists the commitment of everyone.

And don’t forget to have a well-defined purpose or mission for all employees to get behind. Let them see the benefit of your plan through regular communication that they will understand and implement.

Have the company take the TRIP Technique™ Assessment to see who scores high in all four TRIP traits. Those that have lower scoring should be given special attention to help them become more successful and productive. Knowledge is power as the old saying goes and knowing who in your employment may be lagging helps you get them to be a better employee. They will be happier and so will you!

That’s about it for this session, use your imagination and implement the whole TRIP Technique company wide for greater results.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime not a trip of a lifetime.

Goodbye,

Keith......

TRIP Tip Bonus "Tenacity = Strength of Purpose"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 19:35:22 GMT

Photo credit Dulce Lima of Unsplash.com

TRIP Tip Bonus Video #5

Tenacity = Strength of Purpose

(View this as a YouTube video)

Hi Keith Renninson “the Tenacity Expert” here with a new video on my TRIP System. Remember that TRIP stands for: tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose.

How strong are your purposes in your life?
Do you have what it takes to see them through to a successful completion?
How dense is your conviction?

Sometimes I use a thesaurus to help me look for words that are synonymous for a topic I want to write about. Today, I saw a comparison that I’d not seen before, tenacity was listed with “strength of purpose”. That fit in perfectly with what I’ve been teaching with these videos for over a year. TRIP obviously includes both tenacity and purpose.

I had often thought of purpose with other words like depth, conviction, and charity, but strength of purpose made perfect sense the more I thought about it. When thinking about the strength of a fabric or metal you often hear about its tensile strength . That’s the amount of stress it would take to make it fail or break. When we set a purpose in life like a goal or mission, we fully expect to achieve it. But then life intervenes, we run up against obstacles we didn’t expect, and our resolve starts to weaken. This is where some questions arise:

Do you have a high tensile score or a weak one?
How strong are you?
How strong do you want to be might be the better question?

Tenacity is that trait that pushes you on when others start to fall by the wayside. It’s that feeling deep inside that tells you that you can accomplish this, you have what it takes and to keep going because the end result is something that you really desire.

Having purpose in life makes it worth living. Having tenacity (strength of purpose) ensures that you will be successful in whatever you pursue. Sure, there will be failures along the way and the purpose may alter in some small ways, but if you keep the specifics firmly planted in your mind the payoff will be seeing it come to life long after your peers gave up hope.

Well, that’s it for this blog, I hope you will give some thought to your “strength of purpose” and be tenacious in your drive to success. Have you checked out my TRIP Technique (TM) Assessment to see how you score at tenacity, resilience, imagination, or purpose? Go here!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

Goodbye,

Keith......

The TRIP TECHNIQUE (TM) Assessment

TRIP Tip Bonus “Do You Set a Purpose With Your Friendships?”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 21:42:27 GMT

Photo credit: Photos Olit on Unsplash.com

TRIP Tip Bonus Video #4 “Do You Set a Purpose With Your Friendships?”

Do you talk about health, wealth and happiness?

Do your friends know you care about them?

This past week a friend whom I’ve not seen much of for several years before and during the pandemic, and I got together for a bike ride. Unfortunately, we re-connected because his father had passed away recently, and we saw each other at the memorial.

We spent a couple of pleasant hours riding, talking, and catching up. As we did so, it seemed as though we had never had a break in our friendship, we picked up right where we left off. Friendships like that are a joy and a blessing.

After he left, I felt refreshed and energized to go on about my day. But it left me thinking about my purpose with friendships. If I wanted a deeper connection with my friends, I had to be proactive about it.

The current climate in our country has become toxic for friends of different beliefs and that wasn’t always the case. I remember my dad telling me as I was growing up, “If you want to keep your friends don’t discuss politics or religion.” As it turns out, that was sound advice.

Today, as we all have found out, if you let your feelings on certain subjects be known you can pay a price for being vocal. That’s wrong, everyone should have the right to their opinion if expressed in an honest and peaceful manner.

This is where I felt that if I let my friends know how much they meant to me no matter their political stance on issues then we could still like and respect each other. My “friendship purpose” then became clear. We have to talk about it and come to some common ground that if we had to agree to disagree on things we can’t control, we could still enjoy each other. Sometimes easier said than done, but if you don’t try it won’t happen at all. Friendships take work to survive.

There are a lot of important things to talk about besides politics and religion and we should try to prioritize those topics. Like how we are staying healthy, keeping our businesses thriving, and how we are finding happiness in our lives. These are things we can control and discuss.

To that end, actually schedule times to meet, talk and enjoy life and each other. Let your friends know that you appreciate them no matter what you may disagree about and work to deepen the relationship.

A lot more things bring us together than separate us and that common understanding will allow your “friendship purpose” to flourish.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime not a trip of a lifetime.

It’s just one man’s opinion…mine.

Cheers!

Keith......

Three Easy Steps to Setting Your Intentions in Motion!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sun, 26 Sep 2021 23:32:53 GMT

Photo Credit: Weekly Intentions by Keith Renninson

Here are Three Easy Steps to Setting Your Intentions in Motion!

Do You Use Intention in Setting Weekly Goals?

Do you understand how powerful Intention is?

Kristin Armstrong , a former professional road bicycle racer, and three-time Olympic gold medalist said of intention, “We either live with intention or exist by default.” I couldn’t agree more because default is the road heavily traveled to mediocrity.

Over time in my life, I’ve learned how holding a serious intention about a health/fitness, a spiritual or business goal was more often achieved when I focused on it. I’m like a lot of people, I have my “to do” list that I update each week. It is my intention to complete that list in the time frame given.

As I viewed the process it became clear that the mere fact that I believed I would finish each task on the list gave me confidence in my ability to have intentions that I was able to accomplish. When we believe in something it adds more power and energy to our confidence. This all boiled down to three power steps over time:

Power Tip #1. If possible, do this during quiet time when you can reflect on your intentions for the week and the future, Sunday evening works best. I start with a yellow legal pad with the title across the top saying “My Intentions for the Week”, then I’d draw a vertical line down the middle of the page and a horizontal line across the page also in the middle, giving me four equal quadrants to fill-in with tasks. I titled the top of each quadrant with something relevant like speaking, writing, website, and club duties. Whatever is important in your life that you want to schedule things to do.

Power Tip #2. I would then list the things that I intended to work on or complete during the week. Prioritize them with the most difficult first and the easiest last. As the week goes along, I often add new items that would arise hoping that I’d get to them by week’s end as well. My tenacity pushed me to complete as much as I could, not wanting to carry anything over if I could help it.

Power Tip #3. I’d cross each item off with a red pen when they were completed giving me a sense of satisfaction as the week went by seeing what I’d finished. Celebrating the small successes is always important to a sense of purpose. Anything that was left got bumped to Sunday evening when I’d start the process over again.

It’s a quick and simple non-tech-based system that keeps me on track and moving forward with my intentions. I hope this helps you to set some intentions, big or small, and follow through on them!

Have you checked out my new TRIP Technique (TM) Assessment? Click here to get more information!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not of a lifetime!

Good luck!

Keith......

Do You Have Trouble Using Visualization?

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 23:40:06 GMT

Photo Credit: Joshua Sukoff of Unsplash.com

Do You Have Trouble Using Visualization?

Do you dream?
Do you dream in color?

When you meditate do you use visualization?

Imagine it’s the middle of the winter, you’re watching some downhill ski racing on TV and they show the competitors getting ready at the top of the hill. One of the racers is on her skis, holding her poles and you can see that her eyes are closed. But her hands are in front of her, and they are moving side to side. What she is doing is visualizing the course, skiing it in her mind, and practicing the turns.

If those of us could only see the course we are competing in, and visualize the turns of marketing, cold calls, and crossing the finish line arms raised in elation at winning. Well, you can, you need to visualize it like a dream, just use your imagination.

See yourself posting a new ad on the Internet

See yourself making calls with customers who are glad you called

See the sales coming in the door or on your website store

See you and your team celebrating your newfound success with pizza and a coke

During your daily meditation, visualize something like the scenario I just listed above. Do it over and over and over until it becomes so easy and you perform it so well in real life that the success DOES appear like magic. Make it part of you, part of your pre-work thinking, soon you will be living it like a reality TV show, and you are the star!

Practice makes perfect as the old saying goes, so get started today!

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

Goodbye,

Keith……

Be sure to check out our new TRIP Technique (TM) Assessment on the link above.

TRIP TIP #40 “Live Your Values, Your Ethics and Most of All, Your Philosophy”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 17:54:15 GMT

Photo by Giammarco on Unsplash

TRIP TIP #40 “Live Your Values, Your Ethics and Most of All, Your Philosophy”

(View this post on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wDx34XhhL08 )

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!” . I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, lets’ get started!

This can be a pretty heady topic that many people want to avoid, but it’s important for us all to walk the walk of our values and ethics. Unfortunately, it seems to me that values tend to ebb and flow in society. They change with the politics, culture, and pop culture of the time. That bothers me a bit because good values can fall away, and poor values will replace them. Unlike virtues which have been developed and honed over time by the great philosophers and thinkers. Virtues are foundational & functional. Revisiting virtues and confirming their usefulness from time to time is a good thing too. You can pass them along to those who are younger, so they see them in action and not as something ancient and outdated.

Ethics, also like virtues, should be solidified in time-honored foundational truth and justice. Right is right and wrong is wrong...politics, pop-culture and the media can twist and turn them to fit their needs and soon they don't look anything like they did originally. This is sad, and dangerous, because unless we are teaching our young the old, tried and true ethics of the ancients, we will stray off course and regret it.

At the end of my keynote and breakout sessions I introduce a concept that I find many folks have never thought of and that is a “Life Philosophy” . If you write a life philosophy, you can include your values and ethics. If you are married, you can work on this with your spouse and children if they are old enough. By establishing your own philosophy, you lay out a foundation of how you will live your life. I wrote mine while I was lost in Nepal and have only edited it in one small way since. I try to live my life by it and have it framed on the wall in my office.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, take time to examine your values, ethics and life philosophy, it will serve you well in the long run.

Have a great day!

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #39 “Journal and Meditate Each Day”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 22:03:18 GMT

TRIP TIP #39 “Journal and Meditate Each Day”

(You can also watch this blog on Keith's YouTube

channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME7SsktD4Z0&t=14s )

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, lets’ get started!

While I was lost in Nepal I journaled and meditated each day. These two activities kept me sane, calm and centered. They both offer ways to think and express yourself, to look for new ideas, to discover things about yourself, and resolve problems. My journaling came to me from multiple sources over the years, plus I watched my mother who wrote in diaries everyday of her life.

Have you ever heard of “free-writing”? It is a tool used by writers who suffer getting started with an article, blog or chapter in a book. Journaling can be like that. You don’t want to just chronicle what’s going on in your life, you want to explore your ideas, feelings and experiences. Free-writing is a process where you take a thought in your mind that more-than-likely won’t have anything to do with your project and start writing. Say that you're sitting on your patio and have a thought about the bees landing on your flowers, and your project is on tips for hikers. You might start with “My flowers are beautiful in the morning sun and the bees are really buzzing around the blossoms. I’ve seen this type of activity on the mountain trails of Colorado when I hike.” Then you take off on your article about hiking. This method just helps you get going, and sometimes it will surprise you with new content that you didn’t start thinking about in the first place.

Meditating is also a useful exercise; it forces you to slow down and get quiet. We are all so wrapped up in our busy lives that life can speed past us without us noticing how quickly it's moving. Slowing down helps us to see what's going on inside of us, what issues surface and how they are affecting our thinking. Like journaling, meditating serves a multitude of needs. I use it to relax after a stressful day and recover my grounding. I will also use it after a hard bike ride to help my body unwind and release tension in muscles.

When you combine meditation and journaling, you get the best of both worlds which will provide you with clarity and understanding about your purpose. Keeping your purpose in the forefront of your thinking and planning through meditation and journaling will keep you on track to success. They work well with all four facets of my TRIP Technique™.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, plan time to meditate and journal and watch the ideas flow to fulfill your ultimate purpose.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #38 “When Lost, Look for the Grand Adventure!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 23:33:48 GMT

Photo credit: Larry Crayton of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #38 “When Lost, Look for the Grand Adventure!”

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!” . I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, lets’ get started!

I've said the title of this Tip as a phrase in a lot in these videos, and for good reason. We all want excitement and adventure in our lives to some extent. Some people will seek more intense adventure than others and some will seek a very laid-back time. I have friends who will only live their adventures through the lives of characters in books, movies and videos. But, no matter how you get your adventure, be on the lookout for how you can add it in your everyday life. Riding an elevator with someone new can be adventurous. Grocery shopping can be an adventure in food delicacies or unusual shoppers. Being single I look for single women to talk to and ask questions about cooking, make it fun because you never know what can come of it, right?.

I mentioned in the last TRIP Tip that we can have multiple purposes and that having a travel purpose is a real plus to adding adventure to your life. We all work hard, long hours, intense projects and clients so the prescription for recovery is an adventurous vacation. Adventure relieves the tension and forces you to look at life differently.

Whenever possible, take short 3-4 day adventures more often than trying to plan a longer possibly international trip. They don’t cost as much, don’t involve longer travel, break up a month into shorter time frames that make you feel you are enjoying life more often and still getting your work done. This is also something that I have encouraged my clients to do. Help them manage the monthly expenses to budget for small and large vacations. They will feel that they are planning more fun into their lives with you rather than just investments and insurance.

We all enjoy the adventure of exploring new places, new restaurants, new cultures. A lot of my cycling friends do bike rides in other states and countries. You are going at a slower pace, see so much more and can be wonderful family fun. Whenever possible I would suggest that your adventure time off be one that includes physical activity. Sports like tennis, golf, skiing, swimming can be done in other towns or states. I’ve never done scuba diving or flown an airplane and they will be on the bucket list soon.

Whenever you feel a little lost or overwhelmed, find something that builds excitement in you and takes your mind off work, just go do it and do it often…that’s an order!

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, plan time off frequently so you can recharge your batteries and be ready to perform at your best!

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #37 “Find Your Passion And it Will Help You Find Your Compassion”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 01:50:55 GMT

Photo by Randalyn Hill on Unsplash

TRIP TIP #37 “Find Your Passion and it Will Help You Find Your Compassion”

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!” . I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, lets’ get started!

The old adage of "love what you do, and you'll never work a day in your life", is so true. When I discovered public speaking and writing, I found my outlet. I discovered my passion through helping others and expressing myself at the same time. It took a long time for me to identify this in myself, I tried so many things in life which made it rich with experiences, but I felt unfulfilled until speaking & writing revealed themselves as being a passion for me.

A component of this process is compassion, and it shows up when you see others struggling, as you have, and you suddenly feel for them and want to help...having compassion is a wonderful way to meet and experience others.

Whatever your passion is there are probably people who need help achieving one similar to yours. This falls into the category of mentoring, but with compassionate bent to it. Having a deep awareness and sympathy for someone’s predicament can make your emotions surface and you’ll feel the need to help them.

Having compassion is a wonderful companion trait to passion. They are both so fulfilling and satisfying. They both make you feel like you have accomplished something outside of yourself. This also then leads you to see how giving is so much more important that receiving. I am so grateful that I can give without needing to receive anything in return. There was a time when I felt that if I did something for someone they should reciprocate, but those days are gone. Compassion has taken over along with my passion to help others. This has made my life richer than I can tell you.

Work hard to find your passion and purpose for they will open many doors to other attributes that will serve you well. I often hear that you must be older for this to happen as we soften with age. That’s not true, you can be well grounded in your life philosophy which will aid you in pursuing your passion and purpose.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, seek your purpose with vigor and intention and it will reveal many wonderful things to you as you move along through life.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #36 “Be Curious About the World!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 00:17:14 GMT

Photo credit: Go to Mantas Hesthaven of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #36 “Being Curious About the World!”

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, lets’ get started!

Having more than one purpose in life is exhilarating! You can have your work purpose, home purpose, spiritual purpose and a travel purpose.

Seeing how people live in far off places gives you a greater insight on our differences and similarities. We are more similar than you might think. All people are seeking to enrich their lives to make them feel free, fulfilled and to be happy. Being curious about them helps you step outside your own needs and makes you more interesting to others which will open a whole new world for you.

Sadly, I’ve known folks who have never traveled outside the continental United States. When you only see the cultural aspects of your immediate community, it becomes boring, and you will often focus on the negative. By engaging new people while traveling to a foreign country you will see other ways of life and instantly opens your eyes to many alternate possibilities.

Curiosity is a wonderful character trait if applied in a commonsense manner. Don’t be pushy about it, just use an approach of wanting to learn. I’ve found many people in other countries are eager to tell me about their customs, history, food and much more.

Using my TRIP Technique & Communication System you will find that curiosity fits in quite well. Foreign travel isn’t always easy, you have to be prepared to be tenacious, resilient, and imaginative in your purposeful quest for experience and knowledge. It was constantly in my face while I was lost in Nepal. But, it served me well in getting help and guidance. And, I came home with a wealth of memories to share with others.

My purpose in the beginning was to solve the mid-life and mid-career crisis I was facing back home. It became something entirely different as I moved from one small town to the next. I solved my problems by seeing the lifestyles and cultures of the Nepalese people. Overall, they are a happy lot even though their lives are anything but easy. Being curious about them opened many doors to meet and learn about people I would never have met otherwise or see again. I learned so much about life from them that it made my decisions easier when I got home.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, consider some travel to assist you in understanding your own life and the lives of others half-way around the globe.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #35 "Move Outside of Yourself!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:25:31 GMT

Photo credit: Levi XU on Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #35 “Move Outside Yourself”

Do you ever notice the impact you're having on others? In my world, as a professional speaker, I get immediate feedback from the members of my audiences. I can see them react to my message, their expressions, body language, and attention tell me if I’m on the right track or not. I’m forced to step outside myself, see how I’m being observed and adjust accordingly. My purpose is to provide a solution to a problem and by being aware of how I’m being received tells me if my message is clearly understood.

As you interact with your clients in your office or their homes, you have the same advantage if you use it well. Learning to be fully in the moment & present physically and mentally. Read their energy, body language and mood as you make your presentation to see if it is being received well. Don’t wait until the end to ask questions, do it as “check-ins” as you move along to make sure they are with you.

Your goal is to have the maximum impact with a minimum of disruption. Your previous on-boarding interview with your client should have given you plenty of information to offer a plan or product that they are already interested in and ready to hear about. By keeping their purpose in the forefront, the solution should offer the features and benefits they are after.

As a side note, never look at how much you will get paid before a sale is done. This is a sure sign that you are not concentrating on the well-being of your client and are still focused in-ward. Instead, pay attention to the client’s wishes and purpose, and your mission will be clear. You will be handsomely rewarded over time with repeat business.

I remember a small sale I made to an inherited client that seemed to have everything taken care of already. But he was so impressed with my thoroughness that I got regular referrals from him for years to follow.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, step outside yourself and into the realm of your client to see clues about your work and adjust on the fly. This will become second nature with time.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #34 “Bring Clarity to Your Purpose!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 22:51:39 GMT

Photo Credit to Karina Lago of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #34 “Bring Clarity to Your Purpose!”

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!” Here’s a link if you’d like a copy: ( http://amzn.to/2CzcLZL ). I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, lets’ get started!

To understand yourself and what drives you, strive for clarity in your thoughts. Being disciplined in how you think; not letting your mind wander and staying on topic will help you find clarity in purpose. There are times that you can let your mind dance around from topic to topic, but when you are doing concentrated thinking, be as clear and focused as you can. Clarity is essential in coming to decisions or to a plan of action.

I am someone who overthinks everything! It’s just in my nature to look at a problem from every possible angle and to some extent that’s good, but when it becomes overwhelming, it’s not. Overthinking isn’t as productive as you might think, (no pun intended) it gives you a foggy, cluttered mind. That’s why I started meditating regularly after I got lost in Nepal. Learning to regulate your thoughts with purpose and frequency trains your mind to prepare an orderly method of thinking.

We’ve discussed meditation in these TRIP Tips before, but not as it concerns purpose. Meditation with a purpose, often about purpose, will bring focus and transparency that is more easily implemented. The more you meditate the more you will discover discipline in your thinking. Think of Mr. Spock of the Star Trek TV series; his was a very disciplined mind almost to the point of being absurd. His Vulcan race valued clarity, accuracy, and unemotional thought. I don’t think we can go that far, but it gives you the idea about how we can gain self-control over our minds if we really try…maybe.

In the last TRIP Tip we talked about how planning eliminates stress and provides purpose , to that end, I’d like to recommend a website and author on this topic that I think you will appreciate: https://www.theblissfulmind.com/mental-clarity/ Catherine provides a thought provoking approach to mindfulness and purpose.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, ask yourself the hard questions about your purpose in life, your life philosophy if you will, and see what the answers look like. Once you do this, you’re ready to ask them of your clients.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #33 “It Helps if You Have a Plan”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 02:02:15 GMT

Photo credit: airfocus on unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #33 “It Helps if You Have a Plan”

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, lets’ get started!

Mind mapping, planning, flow-charting, whatever you want to call it, having a plan that is flexible is a wonderful way to start your business or new project. I often tell my son that if he wants to get somewhere in life a plan is essential. It works in many aspects of life, a plan will take away the pressure of not being prepared. Out of a plan a mission will form, steps will reveal themselves, errors will show up and corrections unveiled. Make a plan, period.

We all have different ways to detail a plan, some use a big white board, others a yellow legal pad, I like to use the sticky note method. I have a nice big window in my office, and I write the steps of a plan, article, book, or project on the sticky notes and put them on the window. Then I can re-arrange them to make a cohesive overview that will give a visual of the roadmap of what I'm trying to do...try it, it works! I’ve written three books and this system has served me well.

Planning gives you purpose and helps you track your progress. It gives you a sense of confidence on where you are and where you’re going and that brings an energy to your project that it won’t have without a plan. That energy also builds professional into your thinking and presentation. As you put your plan down it on paper gives you motivation to see it to completion.

Planning increases your chances of success, plain and simple. As you research your topic/project you will make adjustments to your plan giving you more opportunity to make it very detailed and accurate. Accuracy in planning also gives you a sense of satisfaction of a job well done. Your clients will appreciate the work you put into making the insurance and investment suggestions you’ve obtained from your research. Being accurate in your understanding of their purpose will also impress them and lead them to refer you to their friends and increase your business.

Bottom line, don’t be like everyone else, do your due diligence your way meeting company compliance, but add your spin to it that is on purpose and solving the client’s purpose.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, make planning fun, creative and purposeful.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #32 "Purpose Begets Wisdom!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 21:27:07 GMT

Photo credit: Charl Folscher of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #32 "Purpose Begets Wisdom!"

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. This is the first episode on Purpose and will be a little longer than usual, and I’m excited, so, lets’ get started!

Wisdom, they say, is a key component to a good life, and it comes from your experiences. A lot of life is built around trusting yourself, trusting that you have wisdom and are using it properly to guide you to a purpose that is fulfilling.

Sometimes wisdom comes from experiencing different purposes. I was big on charity volunteerism for a long time. Each non-profit had different purposes and I adapted each one as my own for a period of time. They were all wonderful, caring, and giving organizations, and I was a good leader, but after working with many charities, I learned a new purpose for myself and moved on to other activities. We can give of ourselves only so much before we need to give to ourselves. Balance in giving and receiving is often a hard wisdom to learn.

Since each of you will have many clients with a multitude of purposes they are trying to meet, you must be solidly grounded in your purpose so as not to get too involved with theirs. Over the years I found myself thinking and worrying about my client’s hours after I’d left the office. I adopted the practice of shutting down the client thinking when I closed the door to my office at the end of the day and focused my thoughts on myself and family when I opened the door to my home.

I gained the wisdom to do this after more than a few heated discussions with my wife about “Where is your mind, cause it’s surely not here with me?”. A happy wife means a happy life!

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, look for the wisdom in your decisions and interactions with your clients and relationships.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP#31 “Understand Yourself and What Drives You”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 16:43:56 GMT

Photo credit: Zuzana Ruttkay of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP#31 “Understand Yourself and What Drives You”

Since I live in a philosophical type of brain, discussions about Purpose are near and dear to my heart. I love to philosophize. I truly believe that finding your purpose is key to a happy life. Without it, life is narrow, selfish and vane. Purpose gives you a place to go to outside the inner vision of your day and see it for what it is. The next ten TRIP tips are for finding and implementing your life of Purpose, and that of your clients.

When you get right down to it, what actually drives you? Is it family, charity, art, love, money, Adrenalin, wanderlust, music, food, friendship, knowledge, spirituality, or something else? Finding your purpose isn't always easy. Mine has come and gone in many of the forms that I just mentioned and were often spun off from some other endeavor... nothing in life ever runs in a straight line . But, “seeking” your purpose is the first step and it comes with a lot of self-examination. Generally, that starts with answering some of the basic questions we’ve covered in previous TRIP Tips.

Who are you? What drives you? How can you be better? Where do you want to go and why?

Unfortunately, the answers change with time, so we need to keep asking the questions to make sure we are living our best life possible.

For a long time in my life, I was like a pinball. You've played with an old-fashioned pinball machine I'm sure. The ball gets batted around striking many obstacles, never going in a straight line to success. I was like that. Not really planning anything. But when I learned to do some self- examination and ask the right questions, my life improved dramatically.

In the last TRIP Tip on Imagination, I said that there was a spiritual and metaphysical process to discovering our purpose in life. Oh, of course you can meet folks who say they know what their purpose is, but they are very self-centered, greedy, and manipulative. They haven’t discovered self-examination and its rewards. To become an enlightened individual who looks for their purpose through meditation or prayer takes time and isn’t always pain-free. Taking a hard look at ourselves is difficult, but to find true happiness and success it’s paramount to delve into it with passion.

In your communication with your clients, and utilizing my TRIP System, you need to ask the hard questions. You need to drill down to find their purpose in hiring you and how they see that purpose playing out during their lifetimes. Ours is a serious job, and we must do this work on ourselves earnestly before we do it with the people who put their trust in us to do the job well for them. It’s food for thought for sure.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #30 “Be the Inventor, Creator, and Innovator!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 23:30:46 GMT

Photo credit: forty-two of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #30 “Be the Inventor, Creator, and Innovator!”

We all have made decisions as we were growing up about who we are, who we will become, but after a while we all just fall into a groove and our identity settles into that groove. Do you ever think about changing or adding to who you are? My TRIP System can assist you in this process. Use your imagination to take your present existence and find what new ideas really turn you on. Become a master at brainstorming, looking for the different, the unusual but effective strategies. Let those ideas and energy translate into a new facet of who you are.

If you choose so, be that person who everyone knows will come through with something unique if they brainstorm with you. Your friends and peers understand that you will dig deep into your well of ideas with fun and excitement to bring the momentum they are lacking and give them the boost they need... be their creative leader of thoughts and ideas! Having tenacity, resilience and imagination on your side give you powerful energy to grow.

A couple of TRIP Tips back I spoke of a pool of energy & ideas that we can tap into when needed. It has a spiritual and metaphysical quality to it that allows for heightened enlightenment to find your mission and purpose in life. Don’t discount it, explore it with a sense of adventure.

Once you've experienced the exciting feeling of being the "expert" you will want more it. We all want to be good at something. If leadership is your wheelhouse, leading others with a good imagination is a great place to start.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, be a source of leadership with creativity and innovation for yourself and those around you.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #29 “Always Seek the Adventure!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 22:14:14 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Photo credit: Keith Renninson Magellan's ship Buenos Aires, Argentina

TRIP TIP #29 “Always Seek the Adventure!”

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, lets’ get started!

When people ask why I wrote my book "Tenacity" I tell them that I planned my time in Nepal because I was lost in life and needed a TRIP to find myself. I had hit a mid-career and mid-life crisis. I wanted to illustrate that from time to time we all get lost; we all have to work to find our true selves. We must be adventurous, filled with tenacity, resilience, imagination and purpose to expand and grow.

In the last video, #28, I spoke about taking time off as a recovery period and that was part of my excursion into the Himalayas. It helps you mentally and physically to be prepared to assist your clients through their tough times.

In your practice, make even the mundane adventurous. Mentally change your middle name to “adventure and imagination” and you'll never be bored. Using adventure to spice up your interviews will make them more fulfilling and interesting, and your clients will appreciate it.

Financial planning is like going to the dentist for many people. They find the process uncomfortable, fearful and painful. They have to share intimate details about their financial and personal lives in a way that they have never done before plus, often it’s with of a stranger.

Gain their confidence by setting up your plan visually like a map of a vacation and its many excursions and they will be able to understand it better and feel more comfortable. There are four types of clients: the analytical, the amiable, the expressive and the driver. They all require a different approach and that’s where the adventure comes in and you can use it to your advantage.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, find the adventure in every aspect of your practice for more fulfillment, freedom and fun!

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #28 “Invest in Yourself First”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 01:21:37 GMT

Photo credit: Tamarcus Brown of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #28 “Invest in Yourself First”

In today’s world, there are so many ways to invest in yourself and your business that it’s staggering. I mean you can:

Go back to school for a new designation or degree,
Purchase software to improve your office and your financial planning tools,
Hire a business coach,
Teach a class, I always learned so much from my students!
Take an online course that improves you as an individual and as a businessperson.

You may have noticed that my title to this issue was “Invest in Yourself First!”. First. That’s like the rule that you must pay yourself first. We have to take care of ourselves first. It sets a boundary, relieves pressure, and aids relationships.

Sure, you could obtain a course for an assistant, new furniture for the office, or pay bills, but investing first in your future sets a precedent that to fuel your bottom line. You need to gain new knowledge, stay current on trends in planning, communication systems, and sales techniques. You are the engine of your enterprise , and it needs that fuel.

Over the years, there were times when I felt that I knew enough to move forward only to learn that I was falling behind. What caused that? My ego . We often think that we know it all, and we may for a short period of time, but when that comes to an end, you know that you need more continuing education. Sure, more letters behind your name look great, but it’s the knowledge that comes with them that count.

Investing in yourself can also mean that you need to take some down time. During all my training to do bike racing and skiing, I realized that it was the time off that led to my gains. We all need time to recuperate from stress, work and the constant needs of daily life. We need to invest in R & R, rest and relaxation, to re-energize and refill the gas tank.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, remember to invest in yourself first, you will be glad you did !

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #27 “Get Outside of Your Comfort Zone!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 14:51:52 GMT

Photo Credit: Steve Halama of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #27 “Get Outside of Your Comfort Zone!”

I've mentioned this before and it's so true. If you never ventured out the front door of your home you'd never know what world exists in your own front yard. The old adage of "nothing ventured nothing gained" is very true. They call it a “comfort zone” for a reason ...so get uncomfortable, do something uncharacteristic, and maybe a little dangerous, just a little! Like go for a bike ride to stir up the endorphins and get you excited and energized, go hiking, or play tennis.

I've got a t-shirt that says: "I earn a living doing what you fear most...public speaking!" . When I first started speaking, I would be visibly shaking with fear. My mouth would go so dry that I couldn't spit let alone speak. My ears would ring, my mind would race, and I would forget what I supposed to say. But in time I began to feel more comfortable with what needed to be done and I learned to speak with confidence and strength…thank you Toastmasters!

I really stepped out of my comfort zone when I traveled alone to Nepal when I got lost on my trip years ago. I had so much fun preparing for the trip, planning my route, how I would spend my days after my trek, etc. But, when I actually got on the plane I couldn’t figure out if I was excited or filled with anxiety! I learned so much about myself on that vacation, what I was capable of, how much strength I had and how to depend on my intuition and decisions.

If you never step outside of your comfort zone, you'll never know what you are capable of. Use your imagination to think of ways that you can take baby steps toward something you fear and want to overcome. It's in those small steps that you will see that you indeed can do things you fear. Go ahead try it today! Implement my TRIP System of great communication with your clients and explore the possibilities!

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, step out of your comfort zone and experience life to its fullest!

Goodbye,

Keith......

TRIP TIP #26 “Act Now! Don't Wait!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 26 May 2021 21:09:27 GMT

Photo credit: Jason Leung of Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP #26 “Act Now! Don't Wait!”

You know what it feels like…you’ve just meditated, a exciting new idea came to you and you’re on fire about it. While you've got the buzz, that thrilling fun energy, and while you're in the "zone" of creativity keep it buzzin'! God and the Universe love action when a new idea is beginning to surface, so while it’s fresh in your mind, flesh out the idea in every way possible.

In a 1930 letter, Albert Einstein wrote to mathematician Oswald Veblen, “Nature conceals her secrets because she is sublime, not because she is a trickster.” Einstein loved to sail and said of it, “A cruise in the sea, is an excellent opportunity for maximum calm and reflection on ideas from a different perspective .”

Have you ever wondered where ideas come from? I know it sounds crazy, but I have always felt that there is a pool of invisible spiritual energy that contains new ideas waiting to be discovered. They are in a cloud of energy that surrounds the earth waiting for one of us mortals to slow down long enough to receive the thought we are seeking. When you are ready and happen to tap into that pool and receive an idea, you should take it seriously. You should work quickly and diligently until the creativity and the details about the idea are exhausted, keep receiving for as long as you can.

We all have our little quirky ideas about life on earth and that's one of mine. Does my metaphysical idea cloud exist? I have no idea, but what I do know is that when we are ready for our next great idea it appears out of nowhere. If you receive one act on it right away, don't lose the energy that comes with it.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, be calm like Einstein and let your imagination run away with itself, it will be fun to see what ideas surface for you.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #25 "Imagination Attracts Positive Energy"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sat, 15 May 2021 20:48:34 GMT

Photo Credit: Amanda Jones of Unsplash.com

We all have many of kinds of energies, physical, spiritual, creative, mental, and relationship to name a few. We also have the ability to tap into those energies when we need them. When allowing your creative energy to grow, one thought builds on the next until you have a constant stream of thoughts each more exciting than the one before.

As the Law of Attraction says, "Like attracts like." Positivity attracts positivity which attracts creative energy, and when that happens you've got a runaway train for fun and ideas! Keep the energy up for as long as you can, don't let it slide away...once it's gone, often, it's gone for a while and that's normal.

When creating a financial plan or while gathering on-boarding data from a client you can bring your own unique energy to making it fun and imaginative. Utilizing their future and the current goals to allow the excitement of those ideas to surface and get your client energized to help in the creation of what will serve them the best will deepen your relationship and improve the communication. They will begin to reveal their inner most thoughts and ideas that will help you guide them to more fulfillment, freedom, and fun .

I can’t tell you how many times my assistant would ask me, after clients had left the office, what we were laughing about during the meeting. Once you get them to open up the fun begins, and you can take advantage of that to fill in the blanks of their true desires. With couples, you will see the differences in the plans of one person versus the other and often they will help you prepare your plan to meet the needs of both. Those discussions can be very humorous and pleasant if you design it that way. Bring your positivity to the forefront and be vulnerable about it and they will too.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, approach each client interaction with positivity and fun!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #24 “Lose Your Fear of the Unknown Through Imagination”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 02:42:16 GMT

Photo credit: Jasmin Sessler of Unsplash.com

Overcome your fear by facing it, learning how to cope and rise above it, but above all do it quickly. The longer you wait to face it, the more it lingers and grows. By thinking positively about the outcome, the quicker it fades, consider it like taking a vacation to a place you've never been, and the joy of figuring out the lay of the land. It is a place of joy, not fear.

The unknown is only that way until you become familiar with it, really, it is that simple. If you have a difficult client, case, or deadline communicating about it with your team or mastermind group will take the weight off of you and lessen the load. Use your imagination to figure out a plan of attack. The unknown can be a place of creativity, and fear will destroy it if you let it. FEEL it, live it, experience it, make it yours with pizazz!

When I traveled to Nepal alone and got lost, I awakened each morning with a knot in my stomach and a dry mouth. Fear created my first thoughts. It wasn’t until I realized that I had everything I needed and if I would concentrate on the outcome I wanted, I became energized to make it happen . Taking action to make that come together gave me a goal and a plan, and the unknown became known, and the fear faded.

If possible, make it part of your life plan to do foreign travel. Travel exposes you to so much of life that you've never seen before and helps you accept others for who they are. It also helps you face the unknown with curiosity, not fear.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, awaken each morning with the intention to be happy, successful in your day’s goals without any fear and that will be what happens.

Goodbye!

TRIP TIP #23 “Imagination and Innovation Go Hand in Hand”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 02:37:02 GMT

Photo credit: Surface on Unsplash

It’s very simple actually, think inside and outside the box, twist and turn new ideas, rethink old ideas, give birth to something unique and strong. Innovate to your heart's content, re-imagine your thoughts until you can't stretch them any further, and then stretch them again, little steps lead to giant leaps .

As a professional speaker, I know several nationally recognized speakers who talk on innovation and you know what? Because of their topic, they never run out of things to talk about. What fun that must be! Always seeing the "new" and how it could change things. Your practice doesn’t need to be any different. Make every new prospect and proposal an opportunity to innovate.

Study your prospect and teach them about TRIP concept in your communication with them about possible answers to their particular situation. Imagine new ways to solve their problem. Study your products to discover different ways to apply & implement them.

Just for a moment allow yourself to imagine that you are Steve Jobs, Elon, Musk, Michelangelo, Thomas Edison or Magellan. What must it be like to live with a restless, constantly thinking, and yet, creative mind? They are all known to have busy minds, many don’t need much sleep because they are always busy enjoying creating. If you love what you do, as the old saying goes, you'll never work a day in your life.

If you can think of it and imagine it, you can create it. Don't give up and always be looking for the new and different.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, awaken each morning ready to use your imagination and innovation to satisfy your clients with enthusiastic, contagious energy.

Goodbye!

TRIP TIP #22 “Play the ’What If’ Game & Dream, Dream, Dream!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 15:22:15 GMT

Photo credit: Kevin Perez on Unsplash.com

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So lets’ get started!

So, what is the “What If” game? Look at things from inside out and upside down, change the colors, the perspective, and your vision.

What if we did it this way?

What if we changed that?

What if I brought in an expert?

By asking the questions, we stimulate the mind to expand into new areas, new ways of accessing our imagination.

A quick story about how I wrote my book Tenacity. Looking back, I wrote it almost entirely sitting in a national bookstore chain coffee shop. Being around the books, and people who liked books, generated a new energy for me . I watched people meander and shop, and I thought of different ways to tell my story. For some reason it made me see things in a unique fashion other than sitting at my computer in my office. At home, I could find other things to do, clean house, take out the trash, or go for a bike ride! Observing other folks brought a creativity to my writing that I could get enthused about and make the process more fun for me. Remember, we are after:

Fulfillment

Freedom

& fun!

Often a change of scenery can help with your communications with your staff or clients. Even though I met with most of my clients in my office when I could change it up I did. I had many clients in the country, they had farms, ranches, or businesses in small towns. I would try my “What If” and ask them:

What if we take a walk around town?

What if we visit the barn to see your new calf?

What if we go on horseback to look out over your property?

They seemed to delight in doing this and we cemented our relationship with down-to-earth conversations. Taking time, not being in a hurry meant a lot to them, they felt heard and understood. That’s a big deal!

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.
See you next time, and in the meantime, see how the “What If” approach can change the environment and success of your appointments with some imaginative ideas.

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #21 “Let Loose, Play and Explore!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 20:38:14 GMT

Photo credit: Sharon McCutcheon of Unsplash

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps! ”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So lets’ get started!

Welcome to the first installment about Imagination! This is the fun segment where you get to relive those childlike qualities of yesteryear. Imagination has so many levels of practice and we will cover them in the next ten weeks.

Part of the joy of life is having fun with your abilities, so learn to exercise your fun muscle! You've probably noticed that I often refer to these character traits as muscles. Maybe it's because I've exercised much of my life for bike racing, skiing, mountain climbing and doing those activities puts you more in-tune with your body. Being that connected with my physical nature makes it easy to integrate these mental tips with bodily characteristics. Besides, I love the endorphins you get from exercising!

Imagination should be a place of intensely enjoyable exploration of thought and ideas. You should be able to giggle and be dazzled by your mind and what it can do alone or with others. Don't let your inner seriousness rule, let the experimentation of thinking outside the proverbial box be paramount.

I’ve shared with you how when I got lost in the Himalayas of Nepal I journaled and meditated a lot to control my fears and mental chaos. It’s also where I used my imagination to plan what I was going to do differently when I got home. I let my mind wander, to look at memories of things I didn’t want to repeat and future possibilities that were exciting to me. Meditating and imagination go hand in hand when you let them, and it can be quite productive or relaxing, your choice. Sit quietly, take three deep breaths to calm your mind and see what happens. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, meditate and let your imagination run free like a child!

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #20 "Celebrate the Small Success & Progress"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 20:40:49 GMT

Photo by Revolt on Unsplash

The little steps are very important because they lay a foundation and build on good energy to make the path back smoother and more fun. Remember we are after Fulfillment, Freedom, and Fun!

And speaking of fun, I’ve never been one to pass up on a party! I love having fun with my friends and colleagues. I have a feeling you might be the same. What better time to have one than when you close a case, bounce back from a bad one or acquire a new client? If we celebrate the small successes, then the large ones will be even more special. Plus, they keep us motivated to move on to higher accomplishments, one small step at a time, well celebrated!

Give out prizes, dinners for a team member and their spouse, lottery tickets, order-in pizza, pick up some concert tickets, you get the idea. Make yourself and your team feel appreciated and encouraged.

You also might consider inviting your clients or having a party at their office. This one is a little harder to pull off and it needs to be the right situation with the right client who will appreciate your sentiment behind the celebration. If done correctly, this will cement and deepen the relationship and increase the level of communication between you and your client.

Remember this section has been all about resilience and bouncing back. During this time be very aware of keeping the energy high and expectations focused on the goal. Being resilient is a learned art that resides deep in our character traits and only needs to be called upon during meditation or a time of deep thinking and commitment to bring it to the surface. Commit to being resilient and you will be, it’s a matter of dedication and drive. This in and of itself can be celebrated quietly by you when you are alone. These traits are inherent but not always easy to obtain, keep at it and it will happen naturally.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime , not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, be resilient, and celebrate the small successes and eventually the big ones!

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #19 "Use Outside Influencer's"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 02:06:40 GMT

Photo Credit: M. Accelerator at Unsplash.com

TRIP TIP # 19 “Use outside Influencers!”

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So lets get started!

One of the factors that made an impact on me early in my career was the day that we had a special guest speaker in our General Office . He was a man who lived in the northwest part of Colorado in a county that mainly consisted of farms and ranches, very low in population and commerce. This guy was a multi million-dollar producer year in and year out.

As he spoke about his prospecting, sales systems and office processes I knew that he was a well-organized man. He spoke for an hour and left a lasting impression on me as a rookie.

He shared with us how he used his close personal relationship with his clients to keep his overall clientele small, and yet, make multiple sales over time growing the base of products and trust through honest and frank communication. He openly talked about the hard subjects like estate planning and wills and trusts. He raised the minimum size of estates he'd work with and thus his commissions grew exponentially. I wanted to emulate him right off the bat and tried to copy his methods. Some things I could do quickly, others would take time and experience.

Bringing in someone new to speak, to motivate, to encourage your staff and you can be very motivating. Often a change of environment like a retreat or other venue and activity can open the door to the creativity you need to bounce back with style. Additionally, think about going to the symphony, art museums, and sports games to get your staff involved. Use the time to meet and let the surroundings stimulate creativity to brainstorm and make your process more inclusive of new ideas. Invite your guest speaker to attend these events to spice them up and raise enthusiasm.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime .

See you next time, and in the meantime, be resilient, and use the bounce to your advantage with a new study group or mastermind!

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP Tip # 18 "Brainstorm With Gusto!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 20:37:55 GMT

Photo Credit: MING Labs on Unsplash

TRIP TIP #18 “Brainstorm with gusto!”

In the last TRIP Tip on masterminds, I shared how my group helped with problem issues and clients. They were also a wonderful source for a brainstorming session. Doing this helped bring excitement and fun to the challenge. Bouncing back with the creativity that brainstorming can bring to the situation can be exhilarating. This can be a daily or weekly activity, but it needs to happen regularly so that everyone involved is constantly included and encouraged and kept up to date.

Ask yourself and your group three questions to spark your resilience and imagination:

1. Am I still on target for the purpose of my client?
2. Is this the time for adjustments or stay the course?

3. Do I need to move to the alternatives we discussed?

If you are using the "idea white board" that I shared with you a few Tips ago, post your ideas there. Have a pizza lunch and a brainstorming session to look for pitfalls, generate new ideas, be playful and enthused over the process. Be open to new perspectives from other planners, your staff and even your client, and above all, do your research. Make this process an adventure, review the TRIP words and how you’re applying them to this situation.

Take the temperature of your client because it’s their risk tolerance that’s really in play here. Communicate with them in a frank and honest manner that includes their feelings about the times you’re experiencing. Help them understand both tenacity and resilience and how they apply. Discuss with them the current options and come to an agreement of how to move forward.

Brainstorming with gusto with your team, fellow planners, and your clients is a fun and fulfilling process that will energize you. Have faith and trust in your abilities to make the right suggestions, to communicate them to your clients and implement them in a timely manner. Be strong, you can do this!

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, be resilient, and use the bounce to your advantage with a new study group or mastermind!

Goodbye!

Keith......

TIP #17 “The Bounce = New Ideas”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 03:27:21 GMT

Photo Credit Dylan Gillis from Unsplash

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So lets get started!

Over my career, I have seen more than my share of market fluctuations where resilience played a big role in my business:
•    Much turmoil was created by high inflation, the Arab oil embargo, and the Iran hostage crisis of the 1970’s
•    The financial market crash of 1987 was big at the time (I was in the middle of my CFP training then)
•    The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the World Trade Center attack on 9-11-2001

• And then there was The Great Recession in 2008

All of these events, and more, greatly affected insurance and investment counselors. We had to get really creative to make a living. Remember I started with New York Life in 1975 after my tour of duty in Vietnam ended in 1971. It was an exciting time to be in the business albeit scary.

The process of being resilient should include all of the TRIP traits to give you a well-rounded game plan.

But, how do you get it started? Is there a way to jump-start the creative engine? Yes, one way is to form a mastermind group or study group. In the late ‘80’s I was part of a study group of agents getting different designations such as their CFP or CHFC and we would do case studies together using real life situations that we were facing. I formed lifelong friendships from this group, and it helped me in many instances where I had a problem client, technical issue with a policy, or was looking for a creative way to meet a need.

Mastermind groups are commonplace today. But finding the right mix of members is tricky. If you fit in one well, great, but if it doesn’t feel right, leave and find or form another one. Be a leader and put it together with people who are committed to the process and want to make it work well.

Additionally, have some ground rules like:

•    Keep it classy, strong and resilient with forward thinking
•    Meet in different offices each time
•    Stay on topic and generate new ideas with a sense of adventure
•    Have an agenda for the meeting
•    Stay away from politics as much as possible…discussion of legislation still works though
•    Have goals that fit the times and your needs
•    Above all have fun and be productive

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, be resilient, and use the bounce-back factor to your advantage with a new study group or mastermind!

Goodbye!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #16 "Take It Easy, Don't Force It"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 06:36:43 GMT

Photo Credit on Unsplash: Milan De Clercq

TRIP TIP #16 "Take It Easy, Don't Force It!"

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with the next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, let’s get started!

In the last TRIP Tip, #15, we talked about process and this is an extension of that thinking. There is an expression being used today that you must put in your 10,000 hours of practice to get something down so well that you can do it in your sleep. This part of the process should be taken slow and easy.

When I’m preparing a new keynote, I know that I've got to spend a lot of rehearsal time to get it down so the audience will laugh, learn and use what I'm teaching. Without those hours of repetition, I know it will fall flat and be uninspiring.

Don't force the process of learning how to bounce back let it happen at it's own pace, you'll know when it's ready. When you feel comfortable, practice it with a team member or on a willing client whom you know well.

Resilience has its own energy, and you'll know when the timing is right. What do I mean? In the past, you've performed at a high level without hardly trying. That comes from hours and hours of practice and competition. Soon, you’re doing some things as second nature. Being resilient has the same quality, repeated practice will put you in the " zone" where you bounce back with ease and confidence. This also applies to client communication. They will need time to adapt and understand, so go slow with them and ease them into the process.

When communicating this to your client, either in the initial interview or follow-up reviews over the coming years I suggest you do four steps:

1. Remind them of the TRIP System.

2. Review their plan using each of the four words to reinforce the concept and strengthen their resolve.
3. Talk about the current times and how TRIP applies right then.

4. Consider having them sign a statement of commitment to process to use in the future.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed. Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime develop your own process and be resilient and take it easy, don't force it!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #15 “Resilience is a Process”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 21:35:57 GMT

Photo credit: Pure Julia on Unsplash

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with the next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, let’s get started!

Let’s define process: “a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.” It’s also a learned skill and once you’ve mastered it you can apply it to difficult times. When you have to call up your courage to be resilient you can also call up the process you’ve used in the past. Or, if you’ve not developed the ability yet, you can begin to put a plan in place that will be repeatable and efficient.

There is a beginning, a middle and an end when a new process takes over. Journal and keep track of what works and what doesn't so you can refer to your notes the next time until it becomes part of you and you just do it automatically. Have your team do the same. Knowing what worked once before gives confidence to everyone for a positive outcome.

Processes can change, be edited, deleted, added to like anything else, and that evolution refines the system and gives you a solid foundation to move forward.
Resilience is often needed when the option to panic is very real. It is in times like this that you need to remember your life philosophy, mission and purpose. Find solace in your foundational beliefs, be grounded in your spirituality, and be grateful for the ability to raise you and your team up once again.

If possible, meditate or pray on your situation asking for assistance. This enables your mind to become calm; your thoughts will be clearer and precise. Resilience is the ability that comes out of the strength you acquire in the hard times.

I faced many hard times in my first few years as an agent. I had to work with the landlord on my rent, the phone company on the phone bill and the bank with the occasional bounced check. My process started to become more obvious as time went by. Stay calm, form a plan, take immediate action, and keep prospecting…repeat, repeat, repeat.

You will find your process. Never give up or give in, just give the problem more energy and thought until you find your way through the maze. Trust me, it does work and you will be resilient, you will!

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime develop your own process and be resilient!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #14 “Trust Your Own Confidence”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 18:39:09 GMT

Photo credit: Joshua Hoehne

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of the award-winning book “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!”. I’m here with the next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE.

So, let’s get started!

Being confident is always a good thing. And trusting it in the face of difficulty it’s never easy, but it can give others confid ence...it's contagious and feels good . Trusting in your ability to be resilient is a key component to confidence. Just knowing that you have what it takes to come back to success is not enough. If you aren't resilient, you'll never find out where that success lies.

Trust that you will be able to turn things around. Trust that you have a good team who are willing to follow you, even if the team is you and your Golden Retriever.

I’m not kidding, for many years I had a Border Collie named Hamilton, that I found after returning from Viet Nam. Hamilton could tell when I was down and he would snuggle up with me, put his chin on my leg and look up at me with those big brown eyes saying, "It's going to be okay, I'm here!" During the time that I was a probationary agent, and even later, it was hard to find confidence while learning a whole new business with New York Life, new products, and complicated sales techniques.

When I could finally afford an assistant, I had a real team, albeit a small one, and we worked together coming up with ideas and implementing them. But it all started with my confidence and giving her assurance that we would grow and be successful. So, I would work on my confidence every day with positive self-talk, a gratitude journal, and affirmations. You can do it too, find your own confidence tools and just be yourself. Your clients will sense it and want to work with you.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime be confident and resilient!

Keith......

TRIP Tip # 13 "Be Grateful For Your Blessings!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:56:03 GMT

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TRIP TIP #13 “Be Grateful for Your Blessings!” (Photo credit: Nathan Dumlao)

Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, let’s get started!

Gratitude! An important word in all positive thinking. Developing a list of the things we are grateful for often helps us see that we aren't as bad off as we thought. We have many everyday things that we take for granted like: good health, all our senses, food, clothing, love, companionship, jobs, friends, family, clean water, our many American freedoms and so much more.

There are a lot of approaches to this step being offered today, like keeping a gratitude journal and writing in it each day, putting a list of them on the refrigerator, making a gratitude list on 3X5 cards and looking at them during your day. Whatever you do, make it your own, something that you will stick with and use.

Being grateful is a resilient activity , it rebuilds shaky foundations, puts new air in the tires a spring to your step, and helps you reconnect with your spirit. Being grateful is also part of the happiness quotient, being happy for where you are, who you are, and what you have is so important, especially if you are trying to bounce back from a failure or unsuccessful campaign.

In your quiet time, sitting alone at home or on the way to work in the car, take three or four deep belly breaths to calm your mind and concentrate on what in your life makes you happy that you are grateful for. This exercise will start your day on a positive note. You will arrive at work with an attitude of gratitude and ready to be of service to your clients.

Gratitude gives you a sense of purpose (another of my four words in TRIP) and that helps you build energy into your resilient attitude. If you've ever traveled the world you've seen economic conditions much worse than here in the States. You get a sense of humility and understanding for the plight of others around us. Having gratitude helps you see these things and appreciate our wonderful country and it's freedoms.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime be grateful!

Keith......

TRIP Tip # 12 "How to Use the Bounce Back Factor!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:25:37 GMT

TRIP TIP #12 Resilience: “How to Use the Bounce Back Factor!” (Photo Credit: Shari Sirotnak)

Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, let’s get started!

What is the bounce and how do you use it? Let’s say your energy is at an all time low, you just lost a big case to a competitor and you want to re-energize yourself and your team. The metaphorical “bounce” is something you use to get everyone on-board to move forward once again. You could have a contest with other planners to boost sales and moral. You might plan to have a BBQ to celebrate a new beginning, a new action plan, a new idea, or a new purpose. Use this time to announce them and use the bounce to stir everyone to forge ahead, be resilient and excited once again. Get creative with a brainstorming session to discuss new ideas for logos, marketing solutions or different product approaches. Or, build a list of referrals to approach with a new video email.

There is a hidden positive energy in the bounce. It's not always obvious, you have to find it within yourself first and then your team. Be enthusiastic and make it fun! Encourage everyone with your leadership skills & high creative energy. Use your communication expertise to give hope to the troops after a hard fall. Be confident that success is just around the corner. Use the tried and true American ingenuity to bounce in the right direction and take action right away.

Resilience like Tenacity is a muscle that needs to be exercised to get stronger and more effective. Like the old adage says: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again!" Never give up!

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime be resilient!

Keith......

TRIP TIP #11 “If You Are on a Downhill Slide to Failure, Slide and Fail in Spectacular Fashion!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 01:38:48 GMT

TRIP TIP #11 “If You Are on a Downhill Slide to Failure, Slide and Fail in Spectacular Fashion!” (Photo by Cristina Gottardi)

Hi, this is Keith Renninson "The Tenacity Expert" , professional speaker & author of “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!” with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional.

Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. This is the first installment on the second word of TRIP…Resilience.

So, let’s get started!

I know the title of this session seems counter-intuitive, but I find resilience to be a game. How can I win and not let the enemy win? Enemy you say? Yes, when we reach a bottom in our quest for success, often failing time and time again, the enemy becomes my own negativity. I'm like everyone else, I get down, depressed, unenthusiastic, unhappy, lacking imagination and creativity. All I want is to bounce back quickly, and to do that, I have to win the game against negativity and celebrate it big time! Use that celebration to begin your recovery in spectacular fashion! Find the humor in the failure! It helps to know that you've hit bottom and that it can't get any worse.

There is something inherently fun about a celebration. It can change your attitude, create a new energy, and propel you into a vibrant turn around. So, fail right to the bottom with a burst of new creativity and forward thinking on what you and your team will look like in the near future. Paint the celebration with the vivid colors of a new logo, a new scheme, a new approach to your brainstorming.

This will build confidence in you and your team and put everyone on the same track to a new “you”. Whatever it was that caused you to fail in attracting a new client, riding a stock market correction, falling interest rates, rising inflation, changes in company policy or compliance, consider it an opportunity to re-evaluate your game plan and do an overhaul. Getting yourself and your team on-board to see that light at the end of the tunnel is paramount.

Being ready to hit the road running will give you enthusiasm and a renewed energy to overcome the obstacles ahead, but with a resilient attitude they will seem like minor speed bumps.

When I started with New York Life in 1975 I had to meet preset target sales goals each month to keep my contract or be terminated. If I didn’t meet them, I had a 30-day grace period to catch up. Well, over the 36 months of my probationary contract I was terminated 33 times! I found resilience to be my best friend and counted on it to help me forge ahead each and every month. I retired from the company after 26 years, I guess my resilient attitude paid off! It can for you too.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime be resilient!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #10 "Own Your Uniqueness!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:49:14 GMT

TRIP TIP #10 “Own Your Uniqueness” (Photo: Jet Dela Cruz)

Hi, this is Keith Renninson “The Tenacity Expert” professional speaker & author of “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!” with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional.

Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE.

So, let’s get started!

You are unique in your own special way. Use it to make your project different, and to allow you stand out from the crowd. We all love to hear our name called out, don’t we? We also love many aspects of ourselves and by embracing those unique qualities stir our energy and enthusiasm. Your best qualities come out when you are excited and positive about what you are doing. It helps us find and implement our leadership skills because we are confident and self-assured.

Being unique should come as second nature to you. Copying someone else should feel awkward and uneasy. It's just not you. Finding out how to love yourself and your ways to shine is often hard. We can see only the negatives about ourselves and are overly critical in how we interact with others. Give yourself the opportunity to try different ways to be you, find the ones that you’re comfortable with, that make you happy and make you shine! Will you always please everyone? No. And that's okay. Even the most popular kids in school cannot please everyone.

Being unique can make you feel uneasy, like you are different from everyone else. It takes a while to get comfortable with, but be tenacious, and you will soon find you like it. Honor being different and it will give you strength and confidence.

Not being like every other planner will allow you to stand out in an already full room. You can do this with how you dress, how you speak, how you hold your posture and how you deliver your plans in interviews. Join Toastmasters to learn how to speak to a crowd. Wear a bow tie, snazzy high heels, crazy socks, unique glasses to spice things up and have fun. But always do it with class and quality. Above all, know your stuff, know your niche. There’s nothing better than a smart person who can back up their ideas & what they say with facts and figures.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime be unique!

Keith…...

TRIP TIP #9 “Don't Marry Yourself to Just One Outcome, Be Flexible!”

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:25:20 GMT

TRIP TIP #9 “Don't Marry Yourself to Just One Outcome, Be Flexible!”

Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE.

So, let’s get started!

It's often hard to swallow when you've placed all of your energy into a certain result only to see it change or evaporate. But, more often than not, something better comes along to replace it. This happened to me with a woman who I thought was just right for me and I had my heart set on having a long, loving relationship with her. She had other ideas and I wasn't part of them. It was bittersweet when that didn't work out, but new prospects brightened my attitude.

The same holds true with any business endeavor. If you are the innovator of a new vision, you often have to redesign as you go along, as you encounter new problems that require new solutions. Those new solutions my very well be a diversion to a better product that was originally targeted. Being flexible is key.

Watching something grow from your initial thoughts into a sparkling new product or plan is fascinating and beautiful. Being open to new ways to approach it is also part of the adventure.

Listen to your clients for clues of what makes them happy, and adjust your plan for them accordingly. Your original plan may have to change to meet their needs. Needs analysis is there for a reason and it will set you free! Free to clearly hear what your clients and sometimes your team are saying that will give you insight to another route, with another outcome that is more in line with what they want to see happen.

Being rigid will build a house of cards that will crumble if you aren’t careful. Being flexible opens the door to more research and creativity. Tenacity is the character trait that keeps you searching for the best fit of plan and client.

Just like in a marriage, being open to new and different ways to see things allows for longevity instead of an early divorce.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime be flexible!

Keith…...

TRIP TIP #8 "Never Give Up Hope. Nope, Not Ever!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:07:19 GMT

TRIP TIP #8 “Never Give Up Hope. Nope, Not Ever!” (Photo by Ron Smith)

Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE.

So, let’s get started!

We all have a sense of "knowing". It comes from our inner feeling that we are not alone in this grand adventure. God, the Universe, whatever you want to call it lives within us as our spirit or soul. That is also where hope resides. Learning to access that well of inspiration is essential to being tenacious.

Knowing that you have what it takes to accomplish what you are after also gives you hope. Hope gives you focus and determination. Hope is like faith. Faith and confidence in ourselves, our team and our mission give us hope. Yes, it is ethereal, like smoke, one moment it's there and gone the next...you have to work at having hope...but when you do, it builds your tenacity in the process.

Tenacity and hope go hand in hand when planning for your business. Laying out a business plan, seeing your vision on paper and then implementing it gives you hope that it will succeed. Will you have to tweak it along the way? Of course, but never give up! That is the mantra for many business people and rightfully so. Mantras help cement a vision and give you a clear goal.

Hope is a component of tenacity. Hope is a component of belief and belief is part of faith. With all three you become a force to be reckoned with. Ain’t life grand when you can break things down to their simplest parts? The overall picture becomes easier to see and understand and work toward.

Never giving up is the tenacious part. If your goal is worthy and sound, not giving up IS the game plan. Not giving up is how you develop grit and strength. It builds character and confidence. Trust me you will like the person you become when you take on goals with these attributes. I imagine that your clients will like that person too. They will see someone in whom they can trust and have confidence.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, never give up hope!

Keith…...

TRIP Tip #7 " Focus, Focus and Focus Some More!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 23:14:48 GMT

TRIP TIP #7 "Focus, focus, and focus some more!" (Photo by Stefan Cosma)

Hi, this is Keith Renninson, "The Tenacity Expert" professional speaker & author of “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!” with my next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional.

Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE.

So, let’s get started!

Don't let the negative creep in and take things out of focus. To find clarity focus, focus, and focus some more! What you put your mind to working on it will focus on!

Be tenacious about focusing on your goal, not the pain and discomfort you feel from stepping outside your comfort zone or the doubt that you are experiencing about whether it will succeed or not. In skiing, bike racing and car racing, we are taught that if there is an obstacle in your path, don't focus on it or you will hit it, focus on where you want to go instead.

Have you ever noticed that when you have a pain in your neck, and you focus on it all the time how it really hurts? And, as soon as you divert your attention for a little while you suddenly discover that the pain isn't as intense as it was. If you focus on the action steps moving toward your goal with intent, you will see your anxiety diminish and fade away. Then with renewed energy and excitement push forward.

Be sure to communicate to your team how important the work each of them do is to the overall mission. Bring attention to their efforts and build positivity, confidence and pride.

Negativity spawns more negativity. It is sneaky and insidious and can ruin your day, week or year let alone your overall game plan. Imagine how it plays with the minds of your clients. They see the market go down, interest rates drop further, and they begin to get negative about their plan and maybe you. Stay in touch during the hard times and be tenacious in hammering home how not to focus on the negative. Maybe instead, it’s time for them to buy stocks, a mutual fund or more insurance to take advantage of the current environment. Remind them of the TRIP System and what the words mean to them.

Focus really is the answer. Focus on solutions, a fun solution if possible. In the real estate business, we always hear that the focus should be on location, location, location. But, for the rest of us it's focusing on our goal, leading well, and communicating effectively to succeed.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime stay focused!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #6 "Push Through Obstacles With a Sense of Adventure!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 19:05:06 GMT

TRIP TIP # 6 "Push Through Obstacles With a Sense of Adventure!" ( Photo by Keith Renninson)

So, let’s get started!

Yes, I’ve used the word adventure numerous times in these tips, because the real sense of adventure intrigues the human mind. Adventure conjures up Indiana Jones, Wonder Woman or Captain Kirk and makes us smile, it is what life is all about. Without it life can be pretty boring. You've got to find the adventure in your daily personal and work lives. Make it a game. Play it with a friend or just by yourself. See how quickly you can find that sense and where it will take you. It can be as benign as looking for a new and different restaurant, or new video game, a new route to ride your bicycles or a new marketing plan with new artwork.

In your office, sometimes putting a different team member in charge of a new project will liven things up as well. Or consider forming a joint venture with another planner or agent to explore a entirely new market.

Once you’ve come up with a plan, understand that God and the Universe love quick action so they can help you. Lay out an adventurous game plan and implement swiftly to keep the energy high.

Always enter into these adventures with the understanding that there will be obstacles along the journey. In sales, they are called objections and are often just smoke screens. It's up to you to overcome the obstacles and satisfy the customer with enough reasons to move forward and purchase. Meeting compliance requirements and branding can be difficult also. This is the same with any other puzzle, find how to deal with problem with a sense of freedom, fulfillment, and fun. Being tenacious to anticipate how to overcome objections before they come up will make your appointments flow a lot easier.

Often your communication style will solve the problem through your use of unique, and maybe, adventurous words. Don't be just like everyone else, use words that are important to you and your sales presentation will stand out. Educate them on what tenacity means within the goal of the plan that you’re proposing. Staying vigilant and strong in the face of an ever-changing financial landscape is paramount.

Your terminology, jargon and language are important to setting the baseline of thought on how a plan will work and how it will benefit your client. Use strong, descriptive and adventurous language that makes them feel secure and excited to work with you.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you have some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

See you next time, and in the meantime, be adventurous!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #5 "Spirit + Adventure = A New Vision!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 02:57:03 GMT

TRIP TIP #5 "Spirit + Adventure = A New Vision!" (Photo by Keith Renninson)

Hi, this is Keith Renninson, "The Tenacity Expert" professional speaker & author of “Tenacity, You Don’t Have to Get Lost in Nepal to Find Yourself, But it Helps!” with the next installment of my TRIP Tips for the financial services professional.

Remember that TRIP is an acronym for TENACITY, RESILIENCE, IMAGINATION, AND PURPOSE. So, let’s get started!

Finding your individual spirit, adding in a little adventure will always generate a new vision.

When developing a new vision, mission statement, or goal for your team or clients can build excitement and positive energy within you and them and that's a great starting point. "You don't have to be good to start, you just have to start to be good" as my friend, professional speaker, and mentor Joe Sabah used to say.

We all are unique in our own special way. My mother would say that this was your God-given spirit or soul. Find your uniqueness, explore it, and then apply it.

Taking time to find what makes you stand out from the crowd though is key. You don’t want to come off like everyone else…no cookie-cutter ideas here, just that which makes you special and different. Yeah, this may look a little like work, but you can make it fun. Especially if your working with your team first. Everyone can contribute to the pot of life experience to find that synchronicity and spontaneity where creativity becomes energized and you explode with ideas. Once you've done this foundational process the sooner you can start moving your vision down the road to completion and success.

This then becomes a new push with your clients to educate them on TRIP, your new vision, and its specific components that apply directly to your clients. This will make them feel special and they will see how you are involved with their plans for the future and ultimately their success. Every client and team member needs to be heard and understood. Being tenacious in your approach and implementation will satisfy that need. You’re the leader, they look to you for this spirit and you can supply it with ease and with tenacity and adventure.

Spirit is what moves us. It's that part of us that gets excited when it’s happy. When you have a happy spirit you're more adventurous and creative. Spirit is what generates adventure, venturing into the unknown, and making something out of nothing until it is meaningful. A new vision can invigorate your team and clients and help them see you as their trusted advisor.

Well, that’s it for this installment, I hope you’ve got some new ideas on how to proceed.

Remember to take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime.

Happy creating!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #4 "Do You Sometimes Need an Adventure or Escape From Your Life?"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 02:41:31 GMT

TRIP TIP #4

Hi this is Keith Renninson the Tenacity Expert and author of Tenacity you don’t have to get lost I Nepal to find yourself but it helps…I’m back with blog # 4 on tenacity in my series of TRIP TIPS for better communication & leadership with your team and clients. Remember that TRIP is an acronym for tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose.

So, let’s get started the title for this tip is: “Do you sometimes need to find an adventure or an escape from your life?”

In the past, when this feeling arose, did you follow through and escape? If not, why? When these feelings well-up in you, you need to pay attention to them. Your body, mind and soul are trying to tell you something and you need to listen. Being intuitive is hard. Reading our feelings and understanding them is a learned skill, I urge you to take time to practice it. You will quickly recognize it, it’s that little voice that’s beckoning you to change course, take time away, to let your true path be revealed. Understanding “your own human condition” and learning how to read it are especially important tasks.

When I get restless and seek an escape or adventure it's often because I'm bored, don't want to face an issue that is staring me in the face or I’m finding myself at a crossroads in my life. Boredom is easy to overcome, issues and crossroads won't be so quick to dismiss and move on from. They will resolve only with solutions and actions and those will come when you do take some time off.

When I felt the need to travel back to Nepal, I was 48, just about the time mid-life crisis arises for many people. Taking an adventure was both fun and necessary, and I knew it. While there, many solutions and ideas for the rest of my life surfaced. I was able to use that time to do a lot of soul-searching with gut wrenching reality checks. Do you need to take a month and get lost in Nepal to get the same results? No, but you do need to get away for an hour, a day or longer to think, meditate, pray and take a good hard look at yourself, your business and how you run it.

You will not believe the freedom this unleashes! You will make decisions better, be more creative and guide tenaciously your team and clients with clarity! Plus, you will become a much happier person in the process.

As always, thank you for reading! Please use the contact us button above if you need more information on hiring me to speak at your company or association meeting virtual or live.

Remember don’t take a trip of a lifetime, take a TRIP for a lifetime!

Have a great day!

Keith......

TRIP Tip #3 "Everything You Desire is Just Outside Your Comfort Zone!"

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 02:09:44 GMT

TRIP Tip #3 "Everything You Desire is Just Outside Your Comfort Zone!" (Photo by Keith Renninson)

Hi I’m Keith Renninson "The Tenacity Expert" here with a new TRIP TIP. Remember that TRIP is an acronym that stands for tenacity, resilience, imagination and purpose. Each of these tips is designed to give you a weekly boost and help you use the TRIP System more effectively. Let’s get started!

Have you ever had a crisis in your life? Of course, you have. A mid-life or possibly a mid-career crisis? Crises have a way of demanding our attention, demanding focus and demanding solutions...quickly!

Does this mean that you need to have a crisis to find your tenacity? No, but if you develop your tenacity muscle and exercise it regularly it will be ready to act when one arises. In business, everyday can be a crisis depending on your industry.

First of all, how do you define a crisis? We all have different tolerances to pain and a crisis is often a painful circumstance. Can you rate your tolerance from 1-10? Where do you think you hit a ceiling and need your tenacity to push through? Most of us can keep focus up to a 7 or 8 and then things begin to become chaotic and stressful. If that’s your level, you need to have your tenacious attitude begin to kick in around 6.5.

Be intentional with it. Know that when you reach this point of stress you have another gear to shift into to make the stress level ease as your tenacity takes over. This enables you to see more options and more creative ways to solve the crisis. I think you’ll find that there’s a lot of comfort in knowing that you have this trained mental muscle ready, willing and able to assist you in keeping your cool and becoming confident in your decisions and the actions you will implement.

When you train your team, and your clients, in this important tactic, they too will be able to adjust on the fly and accomplish the tasks in front of them more easily. When you understand how this characteristic can be of enormous help to you and them, you hit the ground running instead of trying to figure out what to do.

At the bottom of my signature line of my emails I have the quote "Everything you desire is just outside your comfort zone." Crises often force us outside our comfort zone. That's what happened to me and why I took my ill-fated trip to Nepal where I got lost for a number of days. I had hit a wall in my life and it was serious, I wanted a change but wasn't sure what kind, how dramatic, or how quickly...my mind was swirling with no solutions in sight.

Take advantage of these times to forge ahead using the energy of the crisis to fuel your tenacity muscle. Like protein is for building the muscles in your body, tenacity is the ingredient that builds strength for the mind. It’s like a jolt of caffeine that gives you the additional energy to be creative, to be swift in decision making, and confident in your actions.

As always thank you for reading, if you want to learn more about my live or virtual keynotes & breakout sessions contact us using the contact us button above.

Remember to always take a TRIP for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime!

In the meantime, live outside of your comfort zone!

Keith…...

Welcome to Keith's TRIP Communication Tips!

keith@keithrenninson.com (Keith Renninson) — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 17:26:03 GMT

Hi, I’m Keith Renninson, "The Tenacity Expert" and welcome to my TRIP Tips! These tips are based on my TRIP Communication System where TRIP is an acronym for: tenacity, resilience, imagination, and purpose.

Everyone always wants to know: What is tenacity? Like most character traits it's hard to describe. It's personal. It's individual, it’s philosophical. And, like a Supreme Court Justice once said, "I can't describe porn, but I know it when I see it." With tenacity you know when you feel it, and, once discovered, you will always remember what it feels like.

Do you remember the first time that you could balance and ride your bicycle? The next time you got on it you were able to recall that feeling to balance and just pedal. Easy peasy right? Tenacity is like that.

For me there is a feeling of strength, that I can do this, I just have to push a little harder, stay focused and I'll achieve my goal. That goal could be overcoming procrastination, or completing a sales pitch, or working out with your trainer regularly.

Just for a moment, look deeper into your convictions. How much do you really want your goal?

Do you ever feel that sometimes you "just think you want something"? Until you are certain that your supposed goal is worth your time and energy and will give you that which you desire, you aren't really committed. We all feel this way occasionally.

Take time to be quiet with yourself and find clarity in your thoughts and desires. The clearer you get on your goal the easier it is to understand it and decide if it is truly desired. Within that quiet time, you may find new ideas to make it better, quicker, or easier. Ideas come to us at the oddest times. I have a grease pen & slate that is made for the shower because, you guessed it, my best ideas come in the shower!

Using these types of things is also a way to be tenacious. I never want to forget an idea that seems really good at the time because I forgot to write it down. Same thing goes for the pad and pen on my nightstand.

Being tenacious can take many forms , it doesn’t have to be extremely active, it can be passive, like meditating, getting quiet and letting your thoughts roam.

Helping your clients understand how they need to be tenacious in following their plan and implementing it will benefit you both greatly in the long run. A client’s attitude can run the gamut of happy, sad, angry, confused and even lackluster. Introduce them to being tenacious while working with you to meet their needs and your relationship will improve dramatically for the better. It will also help them fight through the tough economic times with their goal firmly in place and tenacity in their game plan.

To engage me to speak to your company or association, you contact me using the "Contact Us" button above.

Thanks a lot for reading, I hope my upcoming TRIP Tips help you in big ways and small or just make you think.

Remember to “take a trip for a lifetime, not a trip of a lifetime”!

In the meantime, be tenacious!

Keith......