If you're like me there have been times in your life when you really wanted things, people, places, or circumstances to change. You felt stuck in a rut and in most cases waiting for something to come along that would bump you out of that rut. The funny thing is we are creatures of habit and mental programming. We always tend towards the mean or the status quo, most of the time we do this unconsciously, just going back to our old way of thinking, being, behaving and reacting. Even if we take a seminar or a self help course or read a book how long is the lasting change? Unless something significant happens at that course or during the event or the book really hits you over the head, my thoughts are that the change is like a hot bath and doesn't last very long. So the question is what do you need to do to get out of the rut or rock the boat?

You need to do something out of the ordinary. You need to do something you wouldn't normally do. Break the routine. This is the idea behind practicing random disciplines. At one seminar that I took we were asked to bow every time we entered in and out of a room. The idea behind this simple act was to shake your mind up. In your daily life chances are you don't bow as you enter or exit a room. So if one day to deicide to make this one of your random discipline it would shake you up, mentally, physically, perhaps even emotionally. This makes your mind and body awaken from the status quo. It makes you more alert and makes space for you to take on a new idea.  It is a simple act and subtle change that could make all the difference. The only question is: What are you going to do today to rock your proverbial boat?

The worlds most powerful word....is it abracadabra? No it's ...

FREE

Yesterday was my husbands birthday and we decided we would see how much FREE "stuff" we could get for his birthday. I found a great site "Mr Cheap" who had a list of items, mostly FREE birthday meals, that you could claim. Of course it does mean you have to sign up for a mailing list, but we threw caution to the wind and used an e-mail address that we don't use a lot and went to work. By lunch time, we had a Free meal at Noodle and Company, a free ice cream at Cold Stone and a free drink at Caribou Coffee. Yummy it was time for lunch....all told we saved about $16 and spent about $12, not to bad.

By the time we came home there was another free meal offer at a pub called the Fox & Hound, great let's go have dinner! Jon enjoyed a steak while I had Salmon, we saved $18 and spent about $32 with drinks. It was a fun way to spend his birthday, there was an excitement in getting things for FREE and to see how many things we could get for FREE.

By this morning we had emails for a free pizza, more free steaks, free spaghetti, free stir fry, free fondue, multiple appetizers and the list goes on....we got a lot of free meals to eat in the next 15-30 days.

While many businesses do it, I thought it was a great way to attract business and give people value, after all these days it's all about value. While we got free "stuff" we also spent money with those establishments and in some cases where the items were good, we would go back again.

In business nothing happens until someone buys something, ask yourself, what are you doing to entice someone to open their wallet and spend with you? Can you offer something of value for free? Free is the most powerful word to generate traffic, but the free item must have value for the customer to buy. Remember, to get a customer and retain a customer, offer great value and great customer service and you will succeed. It goes back to the beginning of time "Ask and it is given" "Give and you shall receive" and "free is always good".