This site is the website of motivational speaker Craig Harper. A constantly updated, one-stop information, inspiration, education and motivation station. Unlike many similar sites, it is a totally free resource for anyone who is serious about moving from mediocre to amazing in any area of their personal or professional life. With hundreds of articles covering a wide range of subject matter, great interviews with cool people and inspirational video posts, there's more than enough brain-food to keep you busy for hours. Okay, days!! Enjoy.
Click play above
to
see one of Craig's weekly segments on national
television. (9AM with Kim & David - Network Ten)
Online
Personal Training
Can’t always make it to the gym? With your very own
Cyber-Trainer you don’t need to. Our online PT
service is for people who would like to access the
skill, knowledge and experience of a quality
Trainer, without doing the face-to-face thing.
Life Coach
If you are interested in maximizing your potential,
stepping out of that 'holding pattern' and being
privately coached by Craig click here.
Business Coach
If you're a personal trainer, gym owner or studio
owner who is interested in growing your business
then mentoring with Craig could be a valuable part
of your overall success strategy.
Biological Age Testing
Recently, 67 year old Jan Frazer completed one of
our biological age tests only to discover she has
the body of a 37 year old (in terms of fitness,
strength and function). How old is your body? Find
out here.
Body Composition Analysis
Craig's
team of experts can provide you with a
complete Body Composition Analysis in just 30
minutes.
Online
Nutrition
Many
nutritional experts confuse people with their jargon
and pseudo-science. Let Craig's Director of
Nutrition cut through the dietary confusion and
contradiction for you.
Fattitude
- Craig Harper
While many books focus on food,
Craig teaches that creating life-long change is more about the
dieter, than the actual diet. This book is perfect for people who have a
history of 'almost' getting in shape.
DVD
or CD - Renovate Your Body In this entertaining presentation, Craig discusses the
notion of Renovating Your Body - once and for all. Many of us have a curious
ability to be able to get in shape for events (weddings, parties, reunions
and birthdays), if only we'd get in shape for life.
Craig Harper is Australia's leading
motivational speaker
and educator (according to Google Australia). He is a highly
sought-after corporate coach and is considered to be
a leader and pioneer in the areas of personal and
professional development.
Working with hundreds of
teams, companies and a wide variety of organisations
on numerous continents over the last twenty years
has given Craig a unique insight into, and
understanding of, human performance and all its
variables. Craig has an ability to educate, inspire,
challenge and make people laugh all at the same
time!
When I was growing up, my father (Ron the business man) was forever sharing from his extensive database of Ron-isms (sayings). The downloads were numerous, mildly amusing and constant. While there were literally hundreds of them, some of them got wheeled out more often than others. Here's a snapshot of my childhood education:
"Once I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken" (think about it)
"Going to University won't give you a personality"
"Why buy a book when you can go to the library?" (this was his dating advice to me in my teens)
And while many Ron-isms were tongue in cheek, there was also a smattering of insight and wisdom to be found if you were paying attention; which I rarely was. In my early twenties when I was developing my personal training business (Harper's Personal Training), the old fella and I were talking about succeeding with my new venture when he asked me this question...
"How many first impressions can you make?"
He didn't need to explain; I got it.
In business, first impressions can make or break you; the way a phone is answered, how the staff present themselves, a smile, a scowl, communication style, attitude, punctuality, cleanliness (of the facility), personal hygiene (stinky people aren't really an asset to your business) and much more. It all comes under the banner of professionalism, customer service and awareness.
Before I Continue...
People often ask me how I plan these articles; not only the individual posts but my 'writing plan' for the year. As if. When I look at them blankly it dawns on them that perhaps there is no 'master' writing plan. Perhaps I just write. Usually the process is as simple as this: I have an idea, a challenge, a revelation, a lesson or an experience in my world, and I'm prompted to write about it. So I do. My best work is organic, spontaneous and freestyle. Sometimes I start writing and just see what happens. It's a fertile place my mind. So anyway, yesterday I had an experience which was the catalyst for this post....
Car Shopping
A friend of mine wants to buy a new car. When it comes to buying, negotiating and doing the whole new car thing, she's a little clueless. And kind of hates it. So she asked me if I would do the haggling and number crunching for her, then she could just sign on the dotted line and pay a deposit once the 'uncomfortable' stuff (her words) was done. She knew exactly which car she wanted, so I figured it would be a relatively straight forward process for me. Easy Peasy; I love haggling.
So yesterday I rolled into the closest dealership of the brand my friend wants to buy. I walked in to the showroom (wearing my army shorts, a training shirt and sandals) and it's fair to say that I probably didn't look particularly affluent or impressive. Nonetheless, I was there to do business. I made my way around the showroom, found the object of her desire and crawled all over it like a spider monkey in a banana tree. All the while, sales people walked straight by me like I had a 'do not approach' sign on my forehead or maybe I was the carrier of some highly contagious deadly disease. Didn't really matter, I was still in my investigation and research phase.
What Customer Service?
After fifteen minutes of poking, prodding, pulling and perusing everything I could, I was ready to haggle. At this stage there was still no attention from any of the staff. I really must have looked broke. I emerged from my mechanical cocoon and endeavoured to make eye contact with the nearest sales person. After five minutes of fruitless waiting and looking forlorn, the attention seeking inner-child was beginning to feel somewhat neglected. And mildly pissed off. Couldn't complain about the customer service; there was none. So I headed towards the attractive looking lady who was manning (okay, womanning) the reception desk. As I approached the counter, she looked up from her desk and towards me. Without smiling or acknowledging me, she returned her gaze to the desk region. She was on the phone so I gave her the benefit of the doubt; perhaps she was dealing with an important issue. I stood and waited. And waited. And waited. For about five minutes she made no eye contact with me and continued her phone conversation, which turned out to be with a friend who was having some relationship issues. Yep, pretty important stuff. Just before I was about to walk out and take my business elsewhere, I noticed a plaque sitting to one side of the reception desk. It read:
"Director of First Impressions"
Well, yes she was. And yes she did.
My friend bought her car today... from another dealership. She picks it up next week.
How Do Others See Us?
Like it or not, aware of it or not, you and I are constantly making a first impression on someone. Good or bad. So the question becomes not "do we?" but "how do we?" How are we perceived? How do we come across to others? What kind of message do you send to those around you? Do you come across as friendly? Rude? Arrogant? Kind? Generous? Aggressive? Inconsiderate? Selfish? Genuine? Insincere?
In life we are constantly assessing (other people) and being assessed; it's how we're wired. Part of that is a self-protection thing, part of it is to assess and understand a situation or experience and part of it is because we're sticky beaks (curious). Before you even open your mouth, people are evaluating you. Everything you do (or don't do) is sending a message. People who have never even spoken to you have an opinion of you. When I walk on stage to give a presentation people are already evaluating me before I even open my mouth. My words only tell part of the story and before I speak a single word, they already have an opinion based on the way I walk, how I dress, my look, my age, my hair (or lack thereof), my facial expression, my posture and my physique.
What I'm not Saying...
Now, before you misinterpret what I'm saying, I am not saying that we should be obsessed with, or worried about, what people think of us. Of course people will always find fault no matter how hard we try or how evolved we become. What I am saying is that some of us need to raise our awareness of how people perceive us in certain situations and circumstances. Especially in situations where people don't know us; especially when we're creating a first impression. And no, it's not about becoming an insecure, people-pleaser either; it's about learning to be more effective, productive and aware in both our personal and professional lives. It's about communicating and connecting with those around us in a manner which will produce good results for all concerned. It's about understanding that, "we don't see things as they are, we see things a we are."
Learning by Doing
This ain't no theory; over my journey I have mis-managed many situations, opportunities and conversations because: (1) I used the wrong approach (2) I was unaware; not paying attention (3) I misread the situation and (4) I was too caught up in my own stuff. Of course some people will get offended no matter what but I'm not talking about those people today; I'm talking about you and I and how we can do better in these situations to create better.
First impressions are important not only in business but in any area of our existence that requires interaction with others. Sometimes creating a negative first impression means blowing a potentially great opportunity, lesson or even friendship. So not only did the woman at that car dealership miss the opportunity to sell me a car, she also missed out on meeting me!
So this week my challenge to you is to be more aware. Not obsessed, just more aware. Self improvement is about constantly chipping away at the little things; consistently doing what we need to do, to become a better version of us.
Enjoy your week and choose to be exceptional.
*If you're not sure how to leave a comment, click here.
We don’t know why, but people go crazy for these shirts. Perhaps it’s because they allow us to tell people what we really think without wasting our breath! Order your shirt here.
'You're Not the Boss of Me' T-Shirts
Are you sick
of the bossy people in your world? Well,
this T-shirt could solve all of your
problems and change your life. But then
again, probably not. Order your shirt
here.
