The Negotiators Secrets

My Marathon Master Minders met yesterday again. Fridays evenings are a stretch even for the self-employed. Half the group drives from San Antonio to Austin and then spends the night. We always let the person who went last (last time) go first for the current gathering. That put me last, last night. Anyway – one of the members was getting droopy eyed until I pulled out my white boards and began sharing my Master Idea. The idea I presented was so big and awesome that I couldn’t (still can’t) hold it all in my head. There is a techie aspect of it that’s at this moment beyond me, but within the first minute of the idea the uber-tech-techie in our group said ‘Oh my God – that’s a great idea.’ I presented the idea to the group almost with fear. It’s one of those ideas that takes alot of courage and determination to initiate and see through to completion AND you have to be vulnerable to great minds that might just say “No” anyway.

After presenting the idea to my Master Mind group and letting them tear it apart and show me the flaws – I felt like a million dollars – I take that back – I felt like a Trillion Dollars. My wife went off to parts unknown today as a celebration from the relief of the end of the work week AND getting taxes done before the deadline. Master Mind is so intense for me – I don’t want to party the day after – or “take a break”. Master Mind brings everything into focus and adds lots of valuable information to the participant’s game. My wife deserves her “break” AND I FEEL closer to manifesting the Visions in my Head so I’m paddling away toward the realization of those dreams.

If you have stories or experiences you’d like to share about any topics reflected here on my blog, please feel free to submit them. Ask questions, challenge the (my) information and Negotiate to Your Own Best Good!

I’ll see you at the Negotiating Table!

Bruce Burns the Negotiator

Good Morning Negotiators!

Yesterday evening I negotiated Bull Creek with my two dogs Smooches and Nikita. My wife and I watched the sun go down and our two canine children swim in the cool waters of a local “leash free” gathering spot.

We were celebrating climbing out from under the oh-so-happy task of completing our taxes. The resource of spending the evening with my family at the creek was serenity and joy. On the way home from Bull Creek, I called my younger brother in Florida and he told me the most amazing story.

I’ve had the good fortune of working with Dr. Joe Vitale behind the scenes and at many of his seminars revolving around Manifestation and Ho’oponopono. He is of course one of the significant contributors of the world sweeping Movie The Secret.

My brother just return from Texas back to Florida after dealing with some custody issues in court. It was a heavy time for him though the result was not as heavy as the dread leading up to the courtroom experience. My brother is a Master Electrician who’s worked on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. He lives less than a mile from the Atlantic and sees every Hurricane we ever hear about on TV. Anyway, for Easter his mother-in-law gave him her copy of The Secret. My brother is not a big self-help reader, doesn’t watch Oprah, doesn’t follow the latest craze on anything. Here is what he told me last night:

“I’ve watched The Secret 5 times since Easter. Everytime I watch it, it makes my heart race. I’m so excited about what I’ve seen I’m going to plaster up posters all over my walls to remind me of what I’ve seen in The Secret.”

I asked him if he knew who I worked with sometimes. He said ‘No’. I asked him if he would be surprised to find out that I work with one of the contributors to The Secret, then I described Joe Vitale to him. We both laughed. Anyone who knows anything about Dr. Joe Vitale knows that Marketing is just part of what he does. My brother finds out about The Secret from a woman I’ve never even met. My brother’s last request before we hung up was for me to help him find a “group” out his way that gathers to talk about The Secret.

If you or someone you know is interested in The Secret be sure to read my article about whether The Secret is a Cult or not in:

MARKETING The Secret

How ONE Marketing Strategy Turned an Independent Movie into a Sold-Out Blockbuster!

http://www.thevideoqueen.com/marketingthesecret.html

Bruce The Negotiator

Greetings Negotiators!

I’ve passed the 1 month mark on a Vegan Diet. I’ve lost over 8 pounds in the last month! So what am I negotiating? I’m negotiating my health and “look” with my body. I’m negotiating some small drop of “wellness”for the planet.

Nearly half the fresh water in the U.S. goes to raising meat-food products. I saw a video from Peta today that’s pretty intense – I’ll leave it in my library but not out here on the blog – look at it if you dare.

The Negotiator!

Another essential aspect of Negotiating Successfully is to understand the rules of the context that you are in. It’s Tax Season and the internal pressures of my household shift dramatically at this time as both my wife and I are self-employed. Paying your taxes is a form of Negotiation. For some of you the Negotiation is a forgone conclusion and the Uncle Sam’s “offer” goes unchallenged. For some of you though – there are tax shelters, tax breaks, significant deductions that you take advantage of.

The way this part of the Negotiation between the taxpayer and the government works is that you find a “rules” expert often known as a CPA. There is nothing intuitive about taxes or tax people. In my experience there is no reference to draw on to anticipate how an “expert” might help. Last year we hired a CPA (she’s amazing) and with just one rule she knew about that I didn’t she found my company thousands of dollars of real deductions. That’s thousands of dollars of earnings that I would have paid taxes on that I didn’t have too.

By accessing the Resource known as “My CPA” I now know or employ someone that knows more rules of the Tax game than I did before. She is worth her weight in gold.

The Negotiating Moral of the story is: Make time to do research on the context you are negotiating in. The difference between a Make or Break situation in negotiations is often what the other party knows and hope you do not. Sometimes it’s even just a matter of you knowing something that they do not.

If you use negotiations as part of your workstyle or lifestyle then explore all the parts that are significant to you or at least significant to the people that you negotiate with. Many negotations fail as a result of being caught off guard or underprepared.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaY7VU3jiqk[/youtube]