The Seven Deadly Sins of Credit Cards

I remember the day my first credit card arrived in the mail. A rush of both terror and excitement made its way through me. Terror because I had watched both of my parents go bankrupt due, in part, to overuse and misuse of credit cards. Excitement – because I had a plan. I was going to avoid the seven deadly sins of credit cards and use mine powerfully and thoughtfully.

Can you avoid the following seven deadly sins?

Wrath
Don’t get angry when your monthly credit card statement is spiralling out of control! Make a commitment to only spend on your credit card that which you can afford to repay in full each month. The interest on credit cards is what can kill you, and paying off the monthly minimum will leave you hand cuffed to your card forever! Get your credit card under control and remember “credit” does not mean “free money”.

Lust
Just because you see a new credit card that comes in pink to match your shoes does not mean you need to get it! I recommend only one extra “emergency” credit card – if you’re responsible enough to NOT use it! “Emergencies” does not mean the new XBOX being pre-released! Keep it for emergencies such as medical emergencies or another credit card being denied when you’re travelling overseas due to your credit card company suspecting theft. Also make sure your emergency credit card has no annual fee.

Greed
Wo-hoo your credit card company has just offered you another limit increase! STOP! Consider the following:
• Each time you get a limit increase it will affect your overall borrowing ability (the higher your credit card limits the lower your borrowing power for assets like a house!)
• The higher your limit the more someone has access to if you’re the unfortunate recipient of identity fraud
• Banks quite often offer limit increases to people who cannot sustain more debt
• Do you really need the increase or are you just excited you’ve been offered it

Sloth
Paying off your credit card with another credit card is not the answer! As soon as you withdraw cash from most credit cards, you start paying interest immediately (in most cases). The only time I recommend you consider this option is when transferring the balance of your credit card to another. Then destroy the old credit card! Use the interest free period on the new card (often up to 6 months on a transferred balance) to help completely pay off your credit card debt.

Envy
Do you have a shopping problem? There are many great techniques for not overdoing the product envy, here are just a few:
• Put your credit card in a glass of water and freeze it. Commit to not buying anything until the water has melted (no microwaves!) and you’ve had time to fully consider the purchase
• Get a low limit on your card (preferably one that doesn’t have a limit high enough to afford the new Manolos!)
• Limit your online shopping to funds you’ve earned in your paypal account (that’s right – ebay your old stuff before you buy new stuff!)

Gluttony
How many is too many credit cards? This is, of course, an individual topic. For me – I have a personal card and a business card and I look for features such as low annual fees, high points for frequent flyer programs and long interest free periods. Importantly, I still stick to my rule of paying off each card in full before interest is due. A great option for someone who isn’t sure whether they’re ready for a credit card yet is to get a charge card – where you have to put the money into the card before you spend it!

Pride
If you feel that your credit card situation is beyond your control. Call your bank or financial institution and organise a time to sit down with one of their staff to organise a payment schedule. The banks have a vested interest in you continuing to attempt payment and can be quite flexible in how they make arrangements for your payment – all you gotta do is swallow your pride and ask!

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By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

What's on your list?

I'm passionate about lists.

I'm passionate about goals.

Knowing that can you even imagine how passionate I am about my list of goals?! They sit in a box by my desk and each week I add to them. I add to the things I want to do before I leave this earth.

I found this great video online at: http://www.goals-2-go.com/ showing one person's goal list and what they've done with it. Enjoy!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Don’t think the whole world knows what you do

I just received yet another text message from a company I have no recollection of. The text read “Garments ready for collection at XYZcompany”.

The first time I got this message I had no idea who XYZcompany (of course not their real name) were and only figured it out after the second text by asking random questions of a workmate.

Were they my dry cleaner? Were they a repair shop I’d ordered alterations at? Were they a clothes store? I literally had no idea and their text message gave me no clues.

When you’re sending out correspondence from your company – please don’t assume that people will remember your company name. It’s easy to get tunnel vision with this sort of communication thinking that if someone has used your company’s services they’ll instantly recall the name – but trust me – they may not. Why risk the frustration?

This message would have hit its target first time up if they’d simply said: “Garments ready for collection at XYZcompany uniforms, ph: 6355 5555, 123 Smith Street”.

PS – we just went and picked up our “garments” – and they’re fabulous!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

10 Reasons A Pirate Should Be Your Entrepreneurial Role Model

Bring on September 19 - International Talk Like a Pirate Day! In honour of Johnny Depp, ITLAP Day, and the frivolities that go along with it, let’s talk about why you should forgo traditional entrepreneurial role models for the mighty pirate!

The English word pirate is derived ultimately from the Greek word peira meaning “attempt, experience”, or more implicitly "to find luck on the sea". Let’s see how much we can improve your entrepreneurial experience and find you some luck in the sea of business opportunities!

1. Get a parrot on your shoulder
The parrot on your shoulder can represent two things:
i) Your conscience. Every entrepreneur has moments in time where the easier option does not always represent the right option. Remember the parrot on your shoulder is there to guide you.
ii) Your mentor. The voice of guidance from someone who’s been there and done it. Get the right parrot (or mentor) and you’ll skyrocket to greater heights.

2. The eye patch
An entrepreneur needs to have selective vision. They need to be able to block out distractions and zone in on opportunities. Develop your own figurative eye patch by honing in on what you want to focus on – and making the rest walk the plank.

3. The funky pirate wear and the eye liner
An entrepreneur stands out from the crowd. Whether it’s John McGrath, Sydney real estate agent extraordinaire pioneering the no tie business look or Sergey Brin, google co-founder, wearing jeans and a t-shirt while giving a keynote to 10,000 people, entrepreneurs don’t feel the need to conform to outdated business standards. Most wildly successful entrepreneurs are there because they don’t conform in their businesses. They’re edgy and they try new things in their businesses, which quite often spills over into their outerwear and can make them easy to identify.

4. Any weather – Any time
A pirate’s ship and crew carry them through the roughest storms making them mobile, flexible and able to deal with a multitude of circumstances – just like the ultimate entrepreneur.

5. Live and die by the team
No pirate ever managed to crew an entire ship on their own and no successful entrepreneur ever got there without their own crew of motivated, engaged, talented individuals. In the boardroom as on the ocean – the undeserving leader will face a mutiny.

6. The bicorne hat
The entrepreneur needs to be a master of wearing many hats – even if they look as ridiculous as the Napoleon-esque bicorne hat! As an entrepreneur you’ll need to be motivator, innovator, initial implementer and so much more.

7. The peg leg
The pirate manages to swashbuckle all over the world on slippery decks, in rising oceans and with a peg leg no less! As entrepreneurs we all have our own disabilities. Perhaps you don’t have a formal education, perhaps you were poor growing up, perhaps your technology skills aren’t up to scratch. Be like a pirate and get over it! Whatever your peg leg is, compensate for it and move on!

8. The hook
If there’s one thing we all associate with pirates it’s a hook. As an entrepreneur you’ll need to be able to develop an amazing hook. You’ll need a hook to get people on board with your idea, you’ll need a hook to get investors or the bank interested, you’ll need a hook to get your customers frothing at the mouth for your product or service. If Johnny Depp was the hook for Pirates of the Caribbean – do you have a hook of that calibre for your entrepreneurial passion?

9. The treasure chest
Pirates are single minded in their search for treasure. They know what their treasure is and they have a map on how to get there. What is treasure for you? Is it the chest of gold, is it seeing your product in the market, is it having a crew who love coming to work each day? Know your treasure chest – your goal, and then set about developing a map for how to get there.

10. They just arrrrr
Pirates don’t need to define themselves as pirates. You look at them, you know it. Their crew knows it. They know it. Same thing goes for an entrepreneur. Like the passion for the sea – the passion for entrepreneurialism is in your blood. Your heart rate rises at the thought of a new business idea, your brain races and you can’t wait to hoist your colours up the flag pole and set sail on a new adventure.

And for some fun – try out this online English to Pirate translator: http://www.talklikeapirateday.com/translate/index.php

Arrr, t' your ongoin' success Gar – Kirsty

By Kirsty Dunphey with 2 comments

Appropriately Funny or Inappropriately Crude?

My project director Megan commented on a chalk board she’d seen at the front of a place of business today.

The quote on it read:
“If quizzes are quizzical, then what are tests?”

I giggled wildly when she told me this. Her question to me though, was did I feel this was appropriate material to be displayed in front of a respectable business?

It’s a hard one to answer! On the plus side:
• It made me chuckle
• I remember the business a little more now than I did previously
• It lets me know a little about the personality of the shop owner
• It makes me more likely to check out their chalk board next time I walk past
• It made enough of an impact on Megan that she mentioned it (word of mouth)

On the negative side, I’m sure some people might get offended by the joke. I wasn’t offended, I had my chuckle and I’m sure I will again next time I enter this shop!

Not too many things in life are ever completely black and white – but in this case all the positives could be gained without fear of the negative if the joke / saying choice were a little more PG rated.

Here’s some to consider if you’re thinking of doing something like this to put some laughter into someone’s day and hopefully get them talking about your business in a positive way!

Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers. - Homer Simpson

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling.

Energizer Bunny arrested, charged with battery.

Keep smiling – and making others smile!

Be memorable!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Hrm... this got me thinking...

I was kicking back today reading “Make a name for yourself” by Scott Ginsberg (aka That guy who wears a nametag 24/7). Great book – lots of neat, easy to implement ideas.

But then I just read this one part where Scott encourages you to complete the sentence… “To me happiness is…”

Hrrm… I was stumped! Now I fully believe that you attract what you focus on, but here I was unable to answer that question easily! I thought to myself, "How can I be attracting happiness if I can’t even define it!".

It was a great lesson for me to sit down and run through the possibilities…

Here are some earlier drafts:

To me happiness is…
being in the company of amazing people
achieving my goals
anything that makes me smile
not answering this stupid question because I can’t answer it!!!!
cupcakes, daffodils and a good night’s sleep
feeling a sense of accomplishment

I wasn’t happy with any of these responses and it took me about a day before I came up with one I was happy with.

So let me leave you with some wise words from Scott Ginsberg…

1. Figure out how you would complete to following sentence: “To me, happiness is ______________.”
2. Make sure the answer doesn’t hurt anybody, including yourself.
3. Guard it with your life.
4. Commence happiness.

And if you want to know what my eventual answer was – email me: http://www.kirstydunphey.com/contact.html and tell me your answer!

By Kirsty Dunphey with 2 comments

A simple difference is all it takes

I was in full multi-tasking glory; typing, skyping and emailing, when I called my hairdresser the other day. I was calling to make a simple appointment and was (obviously) not paying full attention to the call.

The answer to my ringing phone was “Welcome to Bladerunner, how can I make your day today?”

How can they make my day today?

I can’t remember ever having been asked how someone could make my day on the phone. It was unexpected, different and it got my attention.

I had an instant shift from multi-tasking maniac to a smiling fan and all it took was a change in the way they answered their phone.

What could you subtly change about the way you to do business to have this same effect?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Take me - but then thank me!

What’s easier: marketing, advertising or cold calling to get a new client or having a new client call you directly? Most people would intuitively and correctly say – having the client call directly. What could be more simple than having the business walk right up to you and say “take me!”.

The next vital steps when a potential client calls you directly should be:

1. Ask how they found out about you. Many times these people will have been referred by someone to you. The referrer could be a previous happy client, a friend, a family member or simply someone in your sphere.

2. Acknowledge the referral. I don’t particularly care how you do this, just make sure you do it and do it immediately! If someone has taken the time to favourably speak about you to someone then the least you can do is pick up the phone and say thank you. Perhaps you might send a thank you card. If the referral warrants it – maybe a small token of your appreciation like a gift.

Take real estate agents for example, a referral of a client to them can mean thousands of dollars. Don’t be the person who doesn’t bother to find out where the referral came from. Even worse, don’t be the person who knows but does not acknowledge it.

The call you should always try and avoid is the one where a referrer has to ask you if you received their referral. It’s insulting to the person who referred the client that you haven’t thanked them and it’s no way to ensure they’ll continue speaking in such glowing terms about you!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Beer o’clock review

It’s the end of the week... Ahh... a sigh of relief escapes your lips. The temptation for it to be “beer o’clock” (Australianism for knock off time on Friday) at 2.00pm or to continue Friday lunch into Friday after work drinks is strong.

Consider taking 5 minutes before you finish on a Friday to ask yourself these simple questions...

Looking back at the week that has been:

1. What is one mistake I’ve made and why won’t I repeat it (ie: what have I changed, what system have I put in place)

2. What is one achievement I’m really proud of

3. What is one area/task/job in which I could have done better

4. What did I learn this week

5. What goal did I get closer to achieving this week

5 simple questions: commit to asking them weekly and you’ll commit to weekly improvement.

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Postcard from the future

Ever seen a 6 year old after receiving personally addressed mail? Bouncing… excitement… gleeful delight… I’m proud to say I’ve retained a lot of my inner 6 year old and I too often get that excited when I receive a thoughtful piece of mail.

Yesterday I got a hand written card from a friend to congratulate me on a speaking job I’ve just been awarded in Las Vegas. Bounce, bounce. A couple of weeks ago I received a book as a gift from a reader of my newsletter. Excitement, excitement. And while I haven’t quite managed to muster gleeful delight over receiving bills and tax notices – wait for that response when my second book arrives in boxes in our office next month!

Mail can be exciting. My challenge for you today is to send yourself some mail. I want you to send yourself a postcard from the future.

I love getting postcards… fabulous picture, a few well placed words and a mental image of someone somewhere living life to the fullest.

Your challenge is to send yourself a postcard from 5 years, 10 years, 50 years (you chose) in the future.

What image is on the front of your post card?

What I mean by this is: where are you in 5, 10, 50 years? Be outrageous if you can. No-one sends post cards from home so pretend you’re either living somewhere amazing or that you’re vacationing at a dream destination.

Note here that I’ve never truthfully been able to answer the question “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”. I hate this question because my mind can’t even conceive all the things I want to do in the next year let alone provide you with a perfect plan for 5 years away.

I could however always answer the question – “Tell me once place you would want to have gone within 5 years”. Vietnam, Prague, Egypt, Arizona, Santiago… the list could go on forever.

So the picture on the front of your postcard is from a location you will want to have been to or be at in 5 years.

What does your postcard say?

On the back of the postcard you have only a few words to write yourself an aspirational message. I love the word aspiration and according to dictionary.com it means a strong desire, longing, or aim or a goal or object desired.

Your post card might look like this:

Picture: Eiffel Tower

Dear Beth,

Wow – can you believe I’m finally seeing the Eiffel Tower with my two great kids and my loving husband. I’m on long service leave from work and can’t wait to get back there refreshed and revived in 2 months. If you could just see the sunset from our hotel over the Arc de Triomphe you’d be as in love with Paris as I am!

See you here in 10 years! Love Beth

Bear in mind Beth might be single without kids right now – but she wants herself to head towards this lifestyle – so she puts it in the postcard.

Mine might be…

Picture: Multi coloured saris

Dear Kirsty

Don’t have long to write, the plane leaves for Cuba in 10 minutes. Of all the 50 countries I’ve seen in the past 5 years flying out of India today leaves me with one of the strongest cultural reminders. The ten businesses I’ve got running remotely as my sensational husband I travel are thriving and supporting my lifestyle and I’ve just mastered my fifth language and can’t wait to learn to salsa next. Did you also know that my brother just bought his tenth investment property???

Stay fabulous and see you here in 5 years - Kirsty

Have a bit of fun with this challenge and feel free to send me your postcard!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

What's your Iron Man?

I sat captivated in an audience a few weeks ago watching a speaker give a presentation. Being a speaker myself I often find myself watching other speakers in two ways, firstly of course to hear their story but also to pick up tips on presentation skills.

I had no time to pick up presentation skills while watching this speaker because for around 45 minutes I was completely drawn into her world. A world I’d never thought about before. In her world 5 years before she couldn’t swim – and yet set herself the goal to compete in the grueling world of Iron Man.

I too am not the greatest swimmer so I journeyed with her in my mind when she spoke of having to go to a class with 5 year olds to learn to swim. I felt her pain when she spoke of her toenails falling off after competing in the Iron Man and my heart swelled when she repeated the words said to her on the loudspeaker as she crossed her first finish line “Susan Casey you are an Iron Man”.

Susan Casey isn’t a professional speaker (despite being utterly engaging.) To me that was one of the things that was so great about her presentation. Here was a real person telling a real story aptly titled “Ordinary people doing Extraordinary things.”

At the end of her presentation she opened for questions and the last comment from an audience member left a bad taste in my mouth. The question asked was “isn’t it bad for your body?” Now I think this is a great question – Iron Man does really harsh things to the human body! After getting the answer, the audience member then disappointingly said to the entire group “I don’t know why anyone would bother!”

To me, she missed the entire point of the talk. Here was a normal person just like any of us in the audience who had set her mind on achieving something great, something only a tiny percentage of the population would ever achieve and she did it despite the difficulty.

This speaker wasn’t talking about persuading everyone to do Iron Man. She was clearly showing us all that whatever our goals and however much sacrifice and determination is needed for us to achieve them – we could do it if we put our minds to it and applied the principles she was talking about.

I felt sad that this person in the audience didn’t get the same message as me. They chose to see simply the first layer of her presentation and not to see how that message could transform their lives and everyone’s in that room.

What’s your Iron Man and how far are you willing to go to achieve it?

By Kirsty Dunphey with 1 comment

Secret 11 - The ladder always has another rung

When a lovely lady called Debra from the United States asked me to do a series on “The Top 10 Secrets that really got me to the Top” I smiled to myself.

I smiled because as much as I love sharing these tips with you – I see myself as having so many more rungs in my ladder to climb! I’m not at “the top” – far from it in my mind.

I’m 28 years old now and I’m overjoyed at some of the things I’ve accomplished over my past 13 years in real estate and 13 years in small business, however – in terms of what I’ll accomplish over my lifetime… I hope to be able to look back in a few years time with accomplishments that dwarf what I’ve already done.

This is a characteristic I’ve observed in lots of my success role models. Whilst they celebrate milestones, they’re always striving for new heights, always pursuing passions and always aiming to climb another rung.

So in terms of phrasing this a secret – I would say “celebrate success, but pursue ongoing challenge”. To me one of the most amazing moments in is when I reach a goal, achieve a dream and make something happen. If I thought I was at the top I’d have nowhere left to go! Dream big!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Secret 10 – Great things come to those who ask

This is one of my favourite secrets because it fits really well with my personality. Will it work for you? Perhaps not exactly in the way I’m describing that it has worked for me, but I think that’s a good thing! If we were all exactly alike and could absorb someone else’s success tips word for word and action for action we’d have no need to use our brains! As with all these tips – internalize them and find a way for you to make them your own!

Back onto the secret though – and that is: Be a little cheeky! I’m a big believer in cheeky!

One recent example of me being cheeky… Pete Williams author of “How to turn your million dollar idea into reality” was featured in last month’s Business Essentials, an audio program that goes out to business professionals everywhere on CD. Pete was nice enough to organize me a copy. After listening to it I was impressed with the program and impressed with Pete for getting himself onto it!

Not wanting to be outdone I emailed the head of Business Essentials, told him about myself and let him know in my own cheeky way that I thought he should interview me next! Now I don’t like to ask for things without giving as well – so I listed a bunch of compelling reasons why interviewing me would work well for Business Essentials and what I could offer in return (never just try and take, always give first!)

Suffice it to say that cheeky Kirsty won out and I’ve been featured as July’s Business Essentials cover interview. If you would like to listen to part of my interview head here: http://www.be.com.au/audio/Dunphey_BE_July07.wax and to find out more about Business Essentials head here: http://www.be.com.au/

So – that was a great result for me, but don’t think I always get my own way! I often ask for things I don’t get, but I’m never going to stop asking. The “no” response leaves me in no worse a place than I was to begin with!

Great things come to those who ask – what can you be cheeky and ask for today?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Secret 9 – Peacock Feathers

I have a confession to make. I’m afraid of birds. I’m getting better at it, but after a memorable childhood experience I’m naturally jittery around them.

I do have a tie for my favourite types of birds. The first is kookaburras. A new addition to my favourites list after my husband trained two of them to hand feed from our back balcony.

My other favourite type of bird though is the peacock. I’ve always been fascinated with their gorgeous tails and their regal colouring. At the Gorge, a must see next time you’re in Launceston Tasmania there are numerous birds, but put almost any other type of bird next to a peacock and it’s hard not to stare at my favourite.

They’re so different from most birds with their calm mannerisms, their looong tails and their hypnotizing colouring.

In the business world I see a lot of sparrows. Pleasant enough little birds, yet where there’s one sparrow there’s lots of others and it’s hard to tell the difference between them.

A peacock is different, as opposed to the sparrow, it says look at me, it’s obvious that I deserve your attention because I’m different.

Perhaps so many of us grow up to be sparrows because back in school being different didn’t often make you popular!

In real estate, in your job, in your business, in anything – you can chose to be a sparrow and do what everyone else does in the same ways as everyone else, or you can chose to be the peacock and to stretch yourself and differentiate yourself in a spectacular way. I chose peacock, always have, always will!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

What is customer service?

Think about the last time you took a ride in a taxi or airport transfer. Over the years I’ve certainly had some funny experiences – especially on one chilly night in Melbourne where our taxi driver told us that living in his country was all about sleeping and partying (in some more expressive language than that!)

I must say however I’m always keenly aware of cleanliness, odour and the ability of the driver to assist when asked questions. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised, often I’m not.

The reason that I’m writing is that I had a great experience this weekend up on the Gold Coast with our airport pick up.

To me when I experience amazing service it’s usually just a whole bunch of tiny things adding up. The components to our service this day included:

• Being greeted with my name spelled correctly on the sign (it’s a small thing I know, but with the number of times my name is spelled incorrectly I always appreciate it)
• Our driver introduced himself by name – Barry, shook our hands and asked for each of our first names
• While we were waiting for our luggage Barry took our carry on to the car
• Barry carried our luggage to the car for us
• He then informed us of the better spot for the one of us with shorter legs (me!) to sit
• In the car were magazines and some jokes that had been printed out
• Barry had a pleasant and knowledgeable answer to every question we asked from how far away a dinner spot was (7 and a half minutes walk) and who he though would win Big Brother (his vote was for Joel!)
• Our pick up time was confirmed and rechecked and he let us know where our driver would be waiting for us
• In case of any other questions we were asked to take a business card so that we could call straight through in case of any problems
• On the drive home Barry remembered the dinner spot and asked how the meal was
• Our luggage was lifted from the boot of the car onto the footpath in front of the airport (ie: so we didn’t have to lift it above the curb)
• Our doors were opened and closed for us
• Barry also requested on the return journey that we take a card in case we needed another ride next time we were in that area.

Nothing Barry did was rocket science – but it all lead to an extremely pleasant customer service experience and one that will make me want to refer Barry and “BT tours and Airport Transfers” whenever I get the chance.

It definitely made me remember that customer service is about little things done well consistently.

By Kirsty Dunphey with 1 comment

Secret 8 – What’s your Everest?

Over the course of my husband’s work – which is quite physical - I’ve watched with great admiration as he’s set himself a goal and then gone all out to achieve it. I’ve seen him push himself physically, training for months on end to prepare himself for a single event stretching only a few days.

Earlier this year I watched one of my good friends as months of physical training culminated in her running her first half marathon.

I’m proud as can be of both of them, but in some ways, I’m also jealous of them both knowing that they’ve gotten to feel that sense of elation that comes from seeing the fruition of physical discipline to achieve a goal. I imagine it’s akin to what those who reach the summit of Everest feel, though perhaps less cold!

I don’t know if I’ll ever train to the same intensity as my husband and I don’t know if I’ll ever run a half marathon like my friend, but the more I study them as role models the more I realise that this tactic does not just get utilized in our lives from a sporting or a physical perspective.

Any time I’ve wanted a promotion in a job, I’ve pushed myself to show that I was ready to my boss. When I wanted to start any of my businesses I’ve pushed myself to take action. When I wanted to implement a innovative idea in my company I’ve pushed myself beyond listening to what “can” and “can’t” be done.

I’ve pushed myself not just outside my own comfort zone – but quite often outside of what others thought was possible, outside what I knew was possible and outside what others were prepared to do.

I love the study of successful people and this is a common thread amongst them all. What is your half marathon going to be? What is your Everest and are you prepared to push yourself to get there?

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Secret 7 – Turbo Charger or Anchor?

Imagine you’re a person who wants to achieve greatness in your life (I hope you are if you’re reading this!). Now you might want to be the best hairdresser, the best business owner, the best figure skater you can be, whatever it is for you, picture it vividly.

Now imagine a case where every day as you went about your life trying to achieve your dreams the people who were closest to you were constantly put out negativity, constantly trying bring you down and constantly belittling your dreams and goals.

Could you still achieve greatness?

I like to think you could, but it would be like trying to sail a ship with the anchor dragging behind you. You might get some momentum – but wow would it be hard work!

Each day we can make a conscious choice as to who we surround ourselves with the majority of the time. I have a very special group of friends and mentors who have definitely helped contribute to my success.

I have many friends who own their own businesses, I have encouraging positive friends who have dreams that are totally different to mine – but they still have dreams, I have a husband who supports my goals 100% and I have mentors who delight in sharing their success and lessons learnt with me.

As opposed to being a dragging anchor these people put turbo charged motors on my sail boat – propelling me closer to my goals.

Do I still have people in my life who are not as positive as they could be? Sure I do – I just try to make sure that I spend the majority of my time with turbo chargers, not anchors. And I try to encourage everyone in my life to dream big, have goals and see a positive future for themselves. The best way I feel I can do this is to be a turbo charger myself.

Here’s wishing you a turbo charged week!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Without Passion...

I had a sensational day yesterday with two fabulous high achieving young women. We talked about so much – but one conversation really stands out in my mind. We were talking about “passion” and about how vital is to love what you do. It reminded me of a phone call I had last week from one of my former staff members – Emma Matheson.

Emma came to work for us under an REIT scholarship when she was just a teenager. She worked with our company under that scholarship for four years.

During that time – as you can imagine - there were ups and downs. Emma and I had many conversations about how if she persisted and stuck with the program she’d be able to achieve all her goals.

Last Thursday when I checked my phone messages I had one from Emma telling me that her new real estate office in St Helens Tasmania was opening on Tuesday and that now SHE was the youngest licensed manager in the State (a title I used to hold!)

I almost burst out of my skin with pride. Congratulations Emma and thank you for reminding me what I’m passionate about – helping other people achieve all they’re capable of!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

Absolutely Abbie

I went to my post office box to pick up my mail the other day and pulled out the mass of paperwork there always is. As I flicked through I noticed some bills, some money coming in, some correspondence - all pretty normal, except for one package. It was from the post office / newsagency (where we do all our book mailouts from). I thought it was my bill for the month – despite the fact that it was kind of a weird shape.

When I got home inside that envelope there wasn’t a bill – there was a small pack of quotation cards with a note saying “thought you might appreciate these – regards Abbie”.

Abbie works at my newsagency and saw these and thought I’d like them – she was absolutely right. This was a really simple gesture, but something that put a huge smile on my face that day and reinforced my decision to continue using this particular post office and newsagency’s services.

It’s a perfect example that customer service can be as simple as a small, thoughtful gift like this, but still be long lasting and have a huge impact.

Thank you Abbie – I look forward to doing more business with you soon!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments

What can you do behind someone's back?

I had a very weird experience earlier this week that I’ll share with you today instead of moving on to tip 7 in the secrets series (don’t worry we’ll get back onto that next week!)

On Monday I drove for about 2 hours to do a 3 hour training workshop. As I do before any session I spent that driving time getting in the right state of mind. It doesn’t matter whether my audience is 2,000 people or 10 (as this group was) the preparation is the same. I listen to the right music, I’ll listen to some business interviews or a CD from Rick DeLuca at www.realestateideaclub.com and I’ll rehearse what I’m going to say as I drive to my destination.

I arrived at the location with my head in the right state of mind, I was ready to go and ready to wow! I went upstairs and introduced myself to the new receptionist at this training location and as I did so one of the other staff came out into the reception area. She saw I was introducing myself and said to the new receptionist (and to me) – “Oh this is Kirsty, you’ll hear lots about Kirsty.”

I smiled to myself and thought, what a nice thing to say. It was then that the smile sort of faded from my face because she continued speaking and the entire passage went something like this:

“Oh this is Kirsty, you’ll hear lots about Kirsty…. I wouldn’t say people don’t like her, but there are a lot of other people who aren’t very happy at the money she’s made in the industry when they’ve been in it longer.” This isn’t a verbatim quote obviously because my word for word memory suffers a little my jaw is on the ground but you get the point… the words “I wouldn’t say people don’t like her… but” definitely stick in my mind!

Tall poppy syndrome is what we call this in Australia and unfortunately it’s prevalent. I know I used to find myself doing it when I was younger – disliking someone for whatever reason without really knowing them or their story.

This obviously isn’t the first time I’ve come across it, but wow – the way this one was presented to me was certainly a first!

I could have taken this a number of ways, but firstly I decided to go downstairs and give the best presentation I could to the room of my colleagues who had been waiting downstairs. It was a fabulous session and they were one of the best groups I’ve ever shared an afternoon with.

Secondly, I had to realise that there are only two ways I’ll ever be able to stop these sorts of comments being made about me:

1. Do nothing, be nothing, accomplish nothing. No thanks!
2. Do my best, strive to set an example and share what I’ve learnt so that others can achieve their own dreams and goals. This way may never stop all these sorts of comments – but it’s my preferred option for sure!

I’ll leave you with a little thought a mentor of mine once said to me… Never say anything behind someone’s back you wouldn’t say to their face, and always remember the best thing you can do behind someone’s back is to pat it!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments