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.
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to
see one of Craig's weekly segments on national
television. (9AM with Kim & David - Network Ten)
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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!
Well we had quite the response to last Friday's post and it's now time to give away a couple of copies of Fattitude to some of our readers. The first copy goes to Steve from California for this little gem:
"My grandfather, Walter, whom I named my son after, used to tell me that stealing a dime was the same as stealing $100 - one made you more wealthy than the other, but they both took away your integrity."
That's gold Steve. Nice work by you and your grandfather.
And the second copy goes to Kevin (from Oz I think) for one of my personal faves:
"If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got."
So true Kevin and don't we make that mistake far too often?
If you two fellas can email your postal details to John today (or very soon-ish), we'll get a signed book to you ASAP. And to the rest of you who also shared some of you own personal inspiration with the rest of us, thanks for taking the time and making the effort.
Okay, on with today's instalment...
What's your Brand?
Did you know that like any organisation, product, business or high profile individual, you have your own brand? Yep, we've got Nike, Ford, Britney, Red Bull, Qantas, Apple, Coke and... YOU. Know it or not, like it or not, we all have our own personal brand. You, me, all of us. That is, the way we're perceived by others; our reputation, our image. Your personal brand is something that will have an impact on:
1. Your relationships
2. Your career 3. The opportunities that come your way 4. People's willingness to get involved with you in either a personal or professional capacity 5. Your income producing potential 6. Your ability to influence others 7. Your ability to open certain doors
Building a Brand
And just as the big players carefully manipulate, manage and massage their brand, perhaps it's time for you to consider the way you're perceived by those you come in contact with. Not so that you might become neurotic and paranoid about "what people think of you" - that's called insecurity and not what we're talking about here - but rather that you might become more aware of how you are generally perceived in your world. Greater awareness leads to greater connection, more productive and meaningful communication, increased opportunities and better outcomes; what we're all about. Having an accurate insight into how we're perceived by others - which the vast majority don't by the way - gives us a distinct advantage over our competition. And yes, we live in a competitive world; just ask the professional speaker who "competes" with other speakers for corporate work on a daily basis. Why would some companies pay $20,000 or more (and they do) for a forty five minute keynote presentation? Because something in the decision makers brain tells her that twenty grand for that particular speaker is a worthwhile investment (no, I'm definitely not the 20K guy). Now that is great branding. A strong brand is a very influential and powerful thing which is why we see people spend $250,000 on a car that they don't need; a car that will depreciate by $50,000 the moment it leaves the showroom floor. Sure they want it - because they have emotionally bought into the brand - but they don't actually need it. If buying a car was a "needs-based" exercise then Porsche would be out of business. However, as it stands they are one of the most successful auto manufacturers in history with arguably the best brand in motoring because the masses have bought into their image which speaks of success, quality, prestige, wealth and desirability.
"A strong brand will make people buy on emotion and not logic; exactly what companies want."
Buying My Brand
When companies (that is, potential clients) contact the agencies who represent me to find a speaker for their conference, in the decision making process they will consider my professional background, my speaking experience, the organisations I've worked with, testimonials from previous clients, the media work I do, my academic qualifications, the way I look, my age, the subject matter I cover in my presentations, my speaking fee and a bunch more; all of which adds up to... my brand. The organisation will then make a decision as to whether or not they will "buy" me and what I stand for. The stronger my brand, the more work I will get and the more the agency will be able to charge for my services.
The Super Babysitter
We can see this type of branding in all areas of life. A friend of mine (Jen) has a sixteen year-old babysitter who works for her on a regular basis - typically around ten to twenty hours per week. While that's not particularly interesting, what is worth knowing is that Jen pays this girl twenty two dollars per hour(!) when most babysitters of the same age are somewhere in the twelve dollar range. When I asked her why she employs the world's dearest teenage babysitter, I was informed that "she's incredible with young kids, completely responsible, professional and reliable and the brats totally love her". Now THAT is a strong brand. Smart girl. This girl's work ethic, track record, attitude and ability has given her considerable leverage in the babysitting market place. Jen also told me that her friends are clamouring for the services of the super-star babysitter. And of course, being protective of her valuable "asset" she won't be handing out that phone number anytime soon. Too funny. "They can keep their hands off her" I was told. When a brand is strong enough, the consumer will totally "buy in" to the product and will often become protective of their preferred brand.
"Perception is an incredibly powerful thing."
Escaping the Pigeon Hole
Over the last ten years I have under-gone my own re-branding process on a professional level; from "Fitness Bloke" to "Personal Development Bloke". A decade ago my brand was pretty much "Fitness Expert". Even though I was working with various organisations and individuals in a much broader capacity than just fitness advice and exercise prescription, the general perception was that I was the fitness guy. This brand presented me with both problems and opportunities; it opened some doors but kept many others closed. In order to be able to do more work with more organisations in a range of capacities (beyond fitness) - and for me to be able to continue my own personal and professional development process - I needed to change the way I was perceived in the market place. And to this point in time that transformation has been relatively successful via the use of things like my work in the media, strategic marketing and of course, this website.
Climbing the Ladder
If one of your goals is to climb the corporate ladder (or any ladder) - or simply to produce better results - but there's a common perception among the people in your world that while you're talented, you're also argumentative, arrogant and self-righteous (for example), then you have something of a branding problem. In order to progress and begin to fulfill your potential you may need to change (1) your employer (2) your behaviour (3) your attitude (4) your brand or (5) maybe the whole lot! Many, many intelligent, gifted and passionate people have under-achieved - in a range of areas, not just their career - because they had a branding problem. Rightly or wrongly, they were labelled into a place of less power, influence, control and opportunity.
Your Brand Now
As I've mentioned already, we don't want to be obsessed with, or preoccupied with what people think of us but at the same time, it is important that we realise that our personal brand - how we are perceived, considered, valued, spoken of - will have a great impact on virtually every area of our life. If people perceive us as untrustworthy, self-centred, egotistical, unprofessional and lacking integrity (just to name a few charming character traits) then they won't want to do business with us, employ us, want us on their team or even to be our friend. If our brand reeks of arrogance and ignorance then they won't respect us or want to listen to us and conversely, if it wreaks of fear, self-doubt and insecurity then we will repel more people and opportunities than we'll attract.
What Works?
If, on the other hand, we present a brand that is synonymous with quality, integrity, reliability, honesty, generosity, kindness, creativity, humility, thoughtfulness and strength then we - and our skills, ideas, knowledge, experience, products, services and talent - will be in demand. Everything you do (and don't do) says something about your personal brand - who you are, who you are not and what you stand for; your communication style, your habits, your values, how you present yourself (grooming), what shape you're in physically, how you deal with different situations and challenges, how you manage relationships, how you resolve conflict, how you interact with your staff/work colleagues/employer/friends, your ability to get stuff done and the results you do and don't produce.
Questions De Jour?
So the obvious questions of the day are...
1. What is my brand? (how am I perceived?)
2. Is my brand an asset or a liability in the pursuit of success?
3. What can I do to create a better brand?
Now I know some of you may be thinking that this all sounds a little strategic and somewhat removed from some of my more spiritual and philosophical offerings. You're right; it is. And that's okay. You and I exist in a very practical world that periodically requires a level of intelligent and strategic thinking and behaviour. Strategy is not synonymous with immorality or evil so panic not. Sometimes it's synonymous with intelligence, awareness and positive change.
Do what you need to.
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