Personal Brilliance...

"Being brilliant isn’t enough—
you have to know how to use your brilliance."
Jeffrey H. Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible
and Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling

In the summer of 2004, when I was very involved in public speaking, I attended an annual convention of the NSA—The National Speakers Association—in New Orleans.

There were over 2,000 professional speakers there (many of the top names in the industry), of which approximately 100 gave a workshop of some sort during the four days of the event, not to mention all those who gave a keynote. I probably attended 20 workshops in all and yet, on my way back home, the ONE speaker I could not get out of my mind was a man named Jim Canterucci.

Jim Canterucci on stage.

I thought that guy was just brilliant!

A short while later, I got an email from Jim informing me that his new book was out. The title did not surprise me one bit: Personal Brilliance—Mastering the Everyday Habits That Create a Lifetime of Success.

Adding to your education

Now, it does not matter how many books or programs you have in your library or how many websites on personal & professional development you have in your favorites, I promise you that your education will not be complete until you read Jim’s book and spend some time on his site.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what some brilliant people (you’ll recognize the names) had to say about the book:

"You are a potential genius and this book shows you how to unlock your creativity in ways you never thought possible! Solve any problem, overcome any obstacle, achieve any goal." —Brian Tracy, author of Time Power and Focal Point.

"Personal Brilliance shows you how to deepen your awareness, heighten your curiosity, expand your focus, and fire up your initiative. With these four innate abilities working at full capacity, you will simply be unstoppable." —Tony Alessandra, PhD, author of Charisma, The Platinum Rule, Collaborative Selling, and Communicating at Work.

"Personal Brilliance provides extraordinary insight into our natural capacity to succeed. This book should be required reading for everyone who is fed up with mediocrity and has a desire to make positive changes in their homes, communities, and businesses." —Keith Harrell, author of Attitude is Everything for Success.

"Jim’s dynamic message in his book Personal Brilliance can be applied to your personal life, your profession, and even your hobbies. Canterucci really knows his stuff!" —Bob Bailey, professional speaker and author of Plain Talk About Leadership.

Yes, Canterucci really knows his stuff.

You’ll realize that quickly enough if you spend any time at all on his website and, hopefully, make the brilliant moves of taking the Personal Brilliance Quotient and joining The Personal Brilliance Online Community.

And make sure to take 4 minutes & 30 seconds out of your busy schedule to watch the Personal Brilliance video.

Here is the link to where you will find all the amazing material I just mentioned: www.MyPersonalBrilliance.com

One last thing, please; do Jim, me and yourself a favor… and do NOT visit his website if you are in a big hurry or in a location full of distractions and interruptions. This is not a "fast food" website; this is more like a four-course dinner you want to savor in front of the fireplace with your favorite Cabernet Sauvignon… and a glass of Grand Marnier afterwards… at a leisurely pace.

Personal Brilliance WILL help you achieve more personal & business success! It has for Laurel and me.

Daniel St-Jean
BizzBooster

P.S.: While you’re on Jim’s site, you might want to sign up for his Blog. He’s got some really interesting postings on there. Here are two I particularly enjoyed.

Broaden your focus to offset a negative situation
Posted by: Jim Canterucci, Jun 06, 2007

Think about the last time you encountered something negative - perhaps you made a mistake or didn't perform as you would expect. Was there a spiraling effect? This one negative situation caused you to continue to perform poorly? This is quite typical.

One of the reasons I love golf is that the sport tends to present these life moments very regularly and very bluntly. One bad shot can cause a spiral of dark, negative emotion which virtually ensures the continuation of poor shots. Sport highlights these tendencies that happen in day-to-day life very well.

(Warning: Golf terminology) I was following Tiger Woods at the Memorial Tournament last week. He hit his tee shot into the rough on a par 5 hole, so he had to lay up. Because the ropes were down he passed within a foot of me after hitting his shot. You could actually feel the steam coming off of him. He was just plain mad at himself. However, by the time he walked to his next shot, that was all behind him. He stuck his third shot within five feet of the flag.

The answer to breaking out of the spiral is to broaden your focus. If your focus is narrowed to a single event (contentious meeting with a customer, an unhappy boss, etc.) you lose sight of the opportunities ahead.

So, step one is to recognize and acknowledge the negative feelings. Step two is to see them in the context of the bigger picture. See the opportunities beyond the situation that didn't go the way you wanted it.

There are many opportunities for situations to go your way but if we are still focused on the last situation that didn't, we can't be open to the positive breaking through. In golf terms, after a double bogey, there is the opportunity for a birdie on the next hole. But, we have to be able to see and feel that possibility for the possibility to come to fruition.

Broaden your focus and see the bigger picture when a negative event occurs. Use context to gain perspective.

Self-Confidence opens doors
Posted by: Jim Canterucci, Aug 17, 2006

The concepts in Personal Brilliance certainly are designed to enhance self-confidence. After all, if people recognize your brilliance and you begin to count on your brilliance how can your confidence not increase?

In the August 21/28 Businessweek (The Competition Issue) a poll of over 2,000 Americans in middle management and above provides some interesting information. Here is one question and answer.

What are the three qualities that are most likely to help people win in the business world?

Self-confidence (Men 66% Women 72%)

Integrity (Men 59% Women 58%)

Self-discipline (Men 51% Women 52%)

Talent (Men 49% Women 41%)

Aggressiveness (Men 30% Women 31%)

Political Savvy (Men 24% Women 22%)

Self-Promotion (Men 11% Women 16%)

Ruthlessness (Men 6% Women 5%)

You might think talent is important, and it is. But, I was just on a call with an executive describing one of his staff, "he's very talented and has a ton of experience, but you probably won't notice because he's not very confident and as a result has poor communication skills." So, self-confidence is surely noticed and coupled with talent and the other abilities resulting from developing your personal brilliance is what it takes to achieve your definition of success.

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