To tell a compelling tale, to write a story, to create a film, these are all amazing things to do. But there are no shortage of films in the world. Fantastic ones, yes, we need more of those, but in terms of the number of titles, there is not enough time to watch them all. We can’t listen to all the music the world has to offer or read all of the books that are out there. There sure is no shortage of product.

To the business people marketing and selling these titles they are just products. Some products may have been inspired labours of live, and perhaps some of them do huge numbers, but to the bean counters they are indeed just products.

When someone creates something it is special to them, and maybe to their loved ones, but to everyone else it is just another book on the shelf. This is the hard reality that artists often have to come to terms with – no one cares until it is a hit.

http://coolfidence.com/when-is-the-movie-coming-out-in-america-solution-20046

Business is about taking risks, but don’t make that risk involve not booking a meeting room and hoping another meeting party doesn’t show up before you’re done.

Pro Tip: If another legitimately booked group does show up and you’re in the middle of something, don’t make eye contact with them or look apologetic. Perhaps they’ll move on to another room, or you’ll have a few extra moments to wrap up. Next time, book it first!

When arriving at a meeting, do you just open a door, walk in and when realizing that you’re in the wrong place go, “oops, my bad?”

Rather treat it like you’re arriving at someone’s house, where you generally knock before entering. Don’t be the obnoxious neighbour with no awareness.

http://coolfidence.com/9-practical-tips-for-etiquette-in-the-boardroom-solution-20044

What is the point of making more and more money? If you are financially independent, then what does another million dollars mean to you? And if you say it is about power then think about this: to your children you are a God – show them your power – be a better parent. Don’t trade quality for quantity. Spend more time with your kids instead of making more money that you don’t even need. If you can do this then you are more powerful than you could ever imagine.

Real power means putting others ahead of yourself. Your children and family should be ahead of anything or anyone, especially any amount of money. But it is all easier said than done. And yes, coming from me, a guy who is not a parent yet.

http://coolfidence.com/if-you-are-financially-independent-then-what-does-another-million-dollars-mean-to-you-solution-20043

97 percent of employees believe that it’s important for managers to have a sense of humour, according to an HR study by consulting firm Robert Half International.

^* The other 3 percent were probably fired by managers and aren’t going to be swayed by humour.

Laughing and smiling helps to alter our mood and perspective. It decreases stress hormones, provides a full-scale workout for your muscles and increases our immune systems and blood flow. A sense of humour demonstrates self-awareness, that you know your flaws and are therefore possibly empathetic to others.

Taking yourself too seriously limits your perspective, learning and can create stressful situations or make you unpleasant to be around. (Basically like every dodgy world leader.)

http://coolfidence.com/7-reasons-why-you-should-learn-to-laugh-at-yourself-solution-20042

Your body often speaks on your behalf, sometimes without you knowing what it’s saying. Studies show that your words account for only 7% of the messages you convey, the remaining 93% is non-verbal – based on what people see and hear through the tone of your voice. So in business meetings, people can see what you’re not saying. It’s important to make sure your body language matches your words if you want them to ring true.

Being aware of your body language works best if you add sincerity – avoid faking it.

Infect with passion. Exude enthusiasm and offer a welcoming face to the people you’re addressing.

What you say is not as important as how you say it. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

End meetings with solid punctuation: eye contact and firm handshake is the equivalent of a full stop.

Body language is a subtle but important form of communication.

http://coolfidence.com/5-truths-about-what-your-body-is-saying-solution-20039

I am sure you also love it when someone says “We have being playing telephone ping pong” or whatever the expression is. Hang on … playing? It is not fun chasing anyone – yes, we are trying to contact someone and some people are just very difficult to get a hold of. And, what’s the deal with that person who calls you, and you miss their call by 15 seconds, and then you try call them back right away and it just rings.

We all got to keep cool heads in these wired times, and a sense of humour helps too.

What I can never quite grasp is when someone goes “Why didn’t you call me back?” Is that the rule – if someone calls you and you missed their call, then, it is expected that you call them back? I get a lot of calls in a day and I don’t monitor my phone like RoboPhoneCop, so if someone leaves me a message then I listen and call them back. But if that same someone then says “Did not see the missed call?” then I never actually know how to respond. Saying something like “I did see it” is not what they want to hear. Yup, these mobile machines are great and all, but they sure do make life more interesting.

We must always be polite and professional – what I would say is “I have been crazy busy and was going to try you later when I had time to think straight and can listen to you properly.” But I am sincere about it, and I do call them later, when I have time.

Nothing is worse than that brush-off call from the car, where you can’t hear much and most of the conversation goes like this “Hello … hello … can you hear me … hello … hello”, I’d better be off listening to Adele – she’s got a good voice and the music. Actually there are worse things, like death and taxes, but you get the point we are sharing.

Hang on. Isn’t the missed call akin to sending someone a blank e-mail and then saying, I never got a reply. Just saying.

http://coolfidence.com/5-golden-rules-of-the-missed-call-solution-20037

There is no such thing as a part-time entrepreneur. Yes, it sounds like so much fun to start a business. Some people will say it means that you are free and the world is your oyster. But it is all about hard work. Sure, it can be exciting, and often there are some amazing moments, but don’t expect to get much sleep. Sleeping late is fun. Being an entrepreneur is not constant fun. It is a full-time journey. Passion is the word you always hear when people talk of start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures. But it is not enough. Just like talent is not enough. It is all about your attitude. Selling is also a fundamental part of an entrepreneur’s journey. We are all selling, all the time. Internally and externally. Inspiring, motivating, sharing … we love what we do, and we do what we love. It doesn’t always love us back though. And this is where character comes into it. Being an entrepreneur requires strength, and grace.

As long as I can remember I loved to tell stories. And also, I am always captivated by a good tale. I make notes of all the compelling and colourful adventures that people share with me. I have found that entrepreneurs accumulate many many stories. Each chapter is another story: the chance taken, the moments of tension, the celebration that never ended, the pain that never lets go, the lessons learned, the ground covered, the mistakes we made, the people that we got close to, and the folk that are no longer there. Entrepreneurs are natural storytellers. Yes, not every entrepreneur is going to stand-up and make a speech to rival Barak Obama (that man sure can talk) but they all have loads of stories to share.

I have been working since I was 16 years old. At the big Hyperama in Sandton, representing Frank & Hirsch, punting Atari computers, during my last couple of high school years. Every Friday afternoon and every Saturday morning. To my 7 years of being a waiter, and the adventure of selling ties, caps and t-shirts, at the flea market on the weekends, when I got a driver’s license and realized that a car can be filled with stuff that one could take to the market and sell. Then there was contract software development when I was a Masters student at university, and of course, at the end of it all, was the start of IS. I was still waitering and working in the flea market when IS began, but stopped shortly afterwards. And through it all, the one thing remains constant: sell, sell sell, That and storytelling. All underpinned by hard work.

http://coolfidence.com/7-secrets-of-being-an-entrepreneur-solution-20036

With many millions of meetings happening daily, there are two certainties: Someone is looking for a phone charger, and someone’s running late.

Okay, so you genuinely got stuck in traffic even though you left mega-early… but you got stopped in a roadblock that took forever.

Five minutes probably won’t register. Half an hour, not cool. An hour late is a no show.

Do you call ahead and be proactive? Do you text from the road (from a stationary car)? Do you pretend like nothing happened and immediately butt into the meeting discussion on arrival?

If it’s a first meeting then should have your homework done. Do you know where you are going and how to get there? Don’t type the address into Google Maps on your way, when you’ll unexpectedly have no Internet connectivity. And don’t make matters worse by appearing unprepared for what’s being discussed.

http://coolfidence.com/5-tips-in-case-you-arrive-late-for-a-meeting-solution-20034

We all make mistakes, er, typos. And sometimes the playful auto-correct feature turns a typo into a word that we did not intend. Yes, this is a common source of embarrassment. Sending a friend or colleague a typo is one thing, but when your company sends out a mail shot and there is a typo in it, it never feels good.

If you do send out an e-mail or a text to someone with a typo then you can always message them again and say “oops, there was a typo”, etc. But, when you are doing a mass mailer, you can’t really do that.

I have been involved in quite a few online ventures and we have had our fair share of typos. It looks amateurish when it happens and you feel stupid, but you survive.

Typos come in different shapes and sizes. Big mistakes are when you send the right mail to the wrong person. And small typos are like this won, er, this one. Ok, that was on people, er, on purpose.

Of course, if it is big typo, like you got the date wrong for the start of the big sale, then you have to send out a new mailer with an apology and a correction.

Typos are not cool, but they are part of this new world. We obviously try our best to make sure that they don’t happen.

The bottom line about a typo in a mass mail shot is this: Nothing. You do nothing. It’s too late. Don’t forget the Streisand effect. So just leave it.

If you do have a typo then life will go on. Thank those that helped you by bringing it to your attention, and put more measures in place to make sure this does not happen again.

http://coolfidence.com/what-do-you-do-when-you-see-a-typo-in-a-mass-mail-shot-solution-20033