You must be present to win. How often have you heard that? Truth is, there's a great deal of power in being present—especially if you show up with an open mind and a willingness to act. Of course, where you are also matters.

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If you pay enough attention, and apply enough effort—sometimes if you just show up—you'll see that great ideas often come from surprising sources. Here's a case in point:

Sometimes, I go home in the middle of the day during the workweek. I get on the treadmill for a while and then have a healthy lunch. This time provides me with a mind-clearing break from routine activities, and after I exercise, I have a fresh perspective on my day. I see this as part of living according to The 7 F’s of True Success. I encourage you to try a similar—if not the same—approach and see what happens.

Recently, during one of my mid-day breaks at the house, a man approached me from the yard next door. Turns out he was a tree surgeon working at my next-door neighbor’s house. He handed me his card and asked if I needed any trees trimmed or removed from our yard.

Until that moment, I hadn’t given this any thought, but then I found myself seeing my yard through his eyes. Did we need trees cut down? Did those out back need a trim? I hadn’t thought about having a tree surgeon come to our home in years, but suddenly I was giving this idea genuine consideration.

Ultimately, my answer was no, but the lesson here is that this guy did make me stop and think about it. With one simple question, he got my attention, and I gave his proposal some serious thought. In the end, he gave me his card and, chances are, I probably will call him next time we need some tree work done. His question might very well pay off for him in the future.

All this made me think: Are you asking enough questions of your clients so that you can create a winning game plan for them (and new opportunities for yourself)? Call the question. Then call another. The answer might not be exactly what you want to hear, but I’m willing to bet that your name will be top of mind next time they need your goods or services. A simple question asked today might just pay off handsomely in the future. But you’ll never know unless you ask.


There is no substitute for showing up. Just by showing up and asking me one simple question—“Do you need any tree work done?”— a man I had never met got me to make a relatively important decision. Now how simple was that? Follow this guy’s lead, and show up. See the people. See lots of people. Ask the right questions, and get in the game.