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Do you have goals for 2019? Did you write them down and keep them where you can see them? I know for 2018 I did a horrible job tracking my goals. I did take the time to write them down and then I never looked at them until the end of the year. Surprisingly, by pure luck, I did achieve a few of them.

One of the things that I struggle with is asking people for help, which is silly. My goal is to increase membership in both of my groups by twenty new clients. I am asking my friends to help me hit my goals by introducing me to people they know who are looking for additional networking…

I had someone call me the other day because a friend of theirs said they should speak to me about my networking events. This person says to me “Just to be clear, I have tried events in the past and have never received even one referral from the people at the event.” When she said this I just chuckled. I hear this comment a lot and my response is always the same; How many of those people did you do business with or try to help out? The answer is typically none or maybe one of them. So why did you expect them ALL to do business with you?

Please remember is takes time to build your…

I was speaking to my friend, who is a Financial Planner, and he was upset because he has a few people who constantly call him for free advice, and he is not sure how to handle this situation. Sadly, this happens all the time.

For me the rule is simple, if you are asking for common knowledge advice, like how much money can I add to my IRA each year, then in most cases that is probably OK. If you are asking what investments to select to invest your IRA in, then you have crossed the line.

Please be respectful to your friends and business contacts. If the information is something…

Santa Dan Greenleaf is a real-beard, real-belly, experienced Santa who does scores of home & office visits, holiday activities, business functions, personal appearances, special events and personal communications (letters, phone calls, live video chats) each year. He is also experienced as a speaker, film & stage actor, writer and educator. With 35-plus years as a teacher, coach, public relations specialist and business manager, he brings marketing and organizational skills to enhance Santa’s visit. 

A co-founder and leader of the New England Santa Society, he is also a…

I had coffee with a friend recently and she recapped her career for me. She kept saying “and then I got lucky and this happened”. Halfway through her story I started laughing and said, you did not get lucky you worked hard, and good things happened for you.

I always smile when people mention how lucky they are. I am not a big believer in luck. I believe good things happen to you because of your efforts. I was meeting with another friend one day and he mentioned how lucky he was because he met an amazing client at a networking event. Was it luck? I don’t think so. It happened because…

Please be cautious about complementing people on their weight loss, not everyone is trying to lose weight.

I have a friend going through a horrible divorce and he has lost a ton of weight because he is heartbroken. People keep complimenting hi on his weight loss. He told me that he just wants to say ‘thanks for the complement on my weight loss, maybe my wife should have left me years ago’.

I have another friend who is sick, and he has lost a lot of weight because of the chemo treatments. When people comment he smiles and says, ‘the chemo is working out great’.

Do you…

Last week I was scrolling social media and I saw a resume for a person that I happen to know very casually. When I looked at it, I said to myself ‘you should share their resume’. However, I must admit there was a part of me that was hesitant because I have reached out to this person many times about my networking group and very rarely have they ever responded to me. There was a part of me that said ‘you do not owe them any favors’.

I did end up sharing the resume, because I felt it was the right thing to do, but I find it is hard to always do the right thing. Sometimes I just have…

Lately my concentration has been off. I find that I am forgetting to do things and that really bothers me. I received an email from a person asking about my networking events. We spoke by phone and agreed that the events were not a match for them. Two days later I emailed them asking if they were still interested. Luckily, they just laughed and reminded me that we had already spoken, but I still looked bad for forgetting. I know this happens to the best of us from time to time, especially when we are overextended, and that it will get better. However, I do know of people who use their…

I really love doing videos for my business. I have been able to grow my business through posting business networking tips via videos on YouTube and Facebook Live. I am always encouraging people I meet to do videos, but I have realized this may not be great advice.

I was having coffee with a friend and I was pushing her to do videos to promote herself. She smiled and said the thought of doing videos made her physically sick. Its ok if you feel that way and think that videos are absolutely not for you. There are lots of ways to grow your business. You simply must find the ones that…

John Blake brings comprehensive industry experience to developers, investors, lenders, family-owned businesses, property management companies, banks and trust companies, tenants and landlords, non-profits, educational institutions, and local towns and city governments.

John's clients look to him as a trusted resource to build legal strategies and achieve practical solutions.  He understands the full range of issues related to…