Lady at the booth

As I was walking through the exhibitor area at a recent conference I saw this lady sitting at her booth with her head buried in a book. It was the first day of the conference and hundreds of people were walking around the exhibit hall.

With the exception of her booth all the other vendors were actively greeting and talking to every person walking by. As a result they had lines of people waiting to have their questions answered. Yet in the midst of all this activity she continued to read her book without making eye contact or even acknowledging people as they passed.

Having set up a similar booth many times in my life, I was curious what she was reading that took precedence over the potential customers milling around. As I approached closer I saw for the first time the title of the book she was reading-- Every Business is a Growth Business: How Your Company Can Prosper Year After Year.

It struck me. How often do we continuing preparing to take action when the time for action is upon us. No amount of reading would have been as beneficial to the woman as simply taking action and talking to the customers walking around.

Preparing can save you time, but it can also become a form of inaction. Sometimes the best way to learn is by simply starting

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Jason C. Steinle is a Doctor of Chiropractic and founder of Health and Harmony Chiropractic and Wellness Center; The Steinle Show talk radio program; and the author of Upload Experience: Quarterlife Solutions for Teens and Twentysomethings. He serves on the Colorado Independent Publishers Association's board and writes monthly columns for the Mountain Connection newspaper and the CIPA Signature newsletter.

To interview Jason or to learn more about the Upload Experience line of resources which are “making life easy for quarterlifers” please visit www.uploadexperience.com

To learn more about Health and Harmony Chiropractic please visit www.chiropractic-wellness.blogspot.com

Hypocrisy

"If you care about the environment, like we do, you'll choose not to have your towels laundered."

After my first trip aboard Southwest Airlines I landed in Las Vegas for a Chiropractic Convention yesterday. (Really...there is a convention)

Hoping aboard the hotel shuttle we drove down the infamous strip. It's quite a site...going by the Mandalay Bay, New York, Bellagio, and Steve Wynn's new place. Lights, lights, lights, and fountains everywhere.

Arriving at the Las Vegas Hilton I checked-in and made my way through a maze of lights and ringing slot machines. My right hand pulling my luggage and my left gripping a bulging catalog of coupons and advertisements I'd been given when checking-in.

Once in my room on the 26th floor I opened the curtains and looked across at the Stratosphere, Rio and Palms casino's glowing in the distance. It's no surprise Las Vegas is one of the few land marks readly identifiable from space at night.

That's when I noticed the sign. It was perched next to the sink.

Paraphrased it read: "We here at the Hilton care about the environment. If you care about he environment, like we do, you'll choose not to have your towels laundered each day of your visit. Together we can help make this world a better place."

Now don't get me wrong. I think it's a great idea, but come on! That note couldn't have been more ironic. There was no congruency between the water conservation request and the rest of the hotel's energy expending lights, signs and machines.

As a business or single individual when we lack authenticity between what we say and what we do it creates skepticism in others. Whether it's a child not trusting his father or a customer guarded against making a purchase, people sense in congruency. They may not be able to pinpoint it but intuitively they will know "something is not quite right."

Within the last month I was approached by a MLM to buy a home air purifier kit. She raved about the health benefits of clean air.

I didn't buy the kit. In fact, I didn't even look at it. Why? Because I know that the sales woman is a regular smoker. Now, how could I take someone serious about the benefits of clean air that routinely fills her lungs with carcinogens?

Each of us has incongruent and authentic aspects of our lives and/or businesses. Take a moment and ask yourself how you can better walk your talk. It may be through changing your walk (actions) or by changing what you say (talk).

Jason C. Steinle

www.uploadexperience.com and www.jasonsteinle.com

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