IN THE NEWS . . . April 23, 2008
Andrés A. Alonso, Ed. D, Chief Executive Officer, Baltimore City Public School System has initiated a partnership with the community called Great Kids Great Schools. He has asked for 500 volunteers from the community to support the city schools and its students. Outfluence has volunteered to participate. Dr. Alonso is introducing creative programs to the Baltimore City Schools. We at Outfluence look forward to joining in partnership with him.
I am very excited to announce that our first podcasts are now available for your listening and learning enjoyment. They are absolutely free and downloadable. Five podcasts are listed in the Podcast Category (look down the right side of the home page and you’ll see it). You will find something positive for everyone in each message, including for your children. If you would like to secure one of the Outfluence, LLC personalities to speak to your school, your company or your organization, please call 888-881-1660 and speak to Al or to Kay. Al’s presentations on An Introduction to Outfluence and on Inspired Performance are always fresh, creative and inspiring. Youthful Dave Sandler is great with kids of all ages and his games are an incredible hit that make Outfluence memorable.
Silent Marketing has a new name . . . Outfluence! I was afraid that the word “Silent” in Silent Marketing might be mistaken to have a sinister meaning. I was concerned that someone might think that “Silent” was a synonym for surreptitious. Not wanting to take a chance that even one person would misperceive what Polishing the Pearl in general, and Silent Marketing in particular, is all about, my wife Kay helped me create a new term. Outfluence is an awareness by you that in every human interaction silent messages are being sent and received. Outfluence is also an awareness of the impact that your silent messages have on me. Understanding those two important components of Outfluence, it is then up to you to develop the ability to purposefully, thoughtfully, and sincerely use Outfluence to, first, help people and, secondly, to achieve your own positive purposes.
To “help people” simply means to encourage them, to listen to them, to offer your services to them — to find a way to first be a positive force in a person’s life. Interestingly, my experience has taught me that when I take the time to learn a little bit about another person’s life story, it helps me as much as it helps them. Most of us just want someone to pay attention to us, don’t we? We want people to recognize that we are alive and that we have value. That’s how relationships develop. That’s where opportunity grows.
I have identified for you 52 Outfluence Business Silent Behaviors that are memorialized in four 13-point booklets as The Age of Innocence, the Age of Experience, the Age of Maturity, and the Age of Silent Communication. The booklets will be available for purchase soon in our on-line store. One of the strengths of Outfluence is that it is a personal journey. We each begin the journey from a different place in our lives and we reach each Outfluence Age at our own pace. Learning the Outfluence behaviors required nearly 50 years of my life. In these booklets you will have at your fingertips easy to follow guideposts to happiness and fulfillment in your personal life and in your business life.
The Age of Innocence is marked by the transition from school to the world of business. Carefree school days with minimal responsibility gradually give way to the serious work of business. During this period you move toward professionalism. You invigorate personal values and establish business values.
During The Age of Experience you solidify your personal and professional values through daily activity. You strive to turn the values you have learned into habits by which you will live.
The Age of Maturity is your opportunity to grow in the most productive period of your life. At this time you have gained the education, the life experiences, and the wisdom to take control of your life and your future.
The Age of Silent Communication is what you have planned for and worked to attain. Here you are at the pinnacle of your personal and career development. You have learned the principles of Outfluence and you are living them. You understand the language of silence. You appreciate that silent communication is highly effective when it is delivered sincerely, transparently, and with thoughtful purpose. You are prepared to capitalize on the opportunities presented to you.
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Visit our on-line store to see our latest product offerings. We believe in bringing you brief to-the-point but powerful information at a price you can afford. And it’s all great information, proven during 37 years of business success which continues today, and it is easily adaptable, immediately effective.
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Polishing the Pearl is about developing the best in you and expressing it. When you bring the best out in you everyone around you benefits, too. The “Pearl” represents you. Why a pearl? Because pearls are so unique. In Asia they symbolize achievement and enlightenment.
Individual accomplishment begins with learning; don’t you agree? I love the cycle of learning. The cycle is comprised of some or all of these six steps: study, trial, failure, advanced study, trying again, succeeding. The cycle has within it many challenges and tests. There are detours and there are temptations. There are also serendipitous moments. The journey toward individual accomplishment is what we remember most, not the accomplishment itself. The reason that is so is because of the obstacles that we must overcome in our journey, the things we learn and because of the people that we meet along the way.
As you easily navigate our website, you will be inspired by our stories. You will also learn from our experiences. Opportunities for you to comment and perhaps share your own thoughts will be available to you.
The Pearl represents you and your God-given gifts. Inspired action energizes your gifts. In his speaking engagements, Al teaches his audience how to polish their God-given gifts and inspire their performances. The benefits to people are easily adaptable, immediate, and enduring.
Al teaches why it is important to:
- Enjoy your work.
- Inspire all forms of communication.
- Understand the magic of silence.
- Respect your colleagues.
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Take pride in what you do.
- Give more than is expected.
- Let your customers, co-workers, and/or your employees know by your words and actions that you really appreciate them.
- Smile… a lot.
- Take a chance.
- Help someone on the way up.
- Be a friend to a person who may be struggling.
Al can be reached at 1-888-881-1660, or via e-mail at info@polishingthepearl.com.