Monday, January 14, 2008

Knock Three Times On The Ceiling

For some reason that old Tony Orlando and Dawn song, "Knock Three Times On The Ceiling" keeps going through my head. When my husband and I met, we lived in the same apartment building. I lived upstairs and he lived in the apartment directly below mine. We quickly became friends and came up with a system for letting the other know we wanted to talk (not sure why we didn't always use the phone). When I wanted him to phone me or come upstairs, I'd stomp on the floor three times. To let me know he got my signal, he'd take a broom handle and knock three times on the ceiling. If he didn't respond, I'd know he wasn't home. I know, it sounds silly now, but it was very effective.

Those thoughts led me to thinking about the many times we knock on doors during our lifetime. There are times when we knock and don't readily get an answer, or the answer we get wasn't the one we expected. Sometimes, we never bother to knock, because we believe no one will answer or we're afraid of the answer we'll receive.

Woody Allen is quoted as saying, "80 percent of success is just showing up." Yes, you must show up to even be able to knock on the door, but if you get there and never knock, what was the point in showing up in the first place? Futhermore, if you get there, knock on the door, but walk away in defeat when no one answers the first time, you eliminate the possibility of success. Success is more than just showing up. Success is showing up, remaining focused on why you showed up and not giving up until you accomplish your goal or shift your priorities (change your mind about the importance of your goal).

You see, as time passes, our priorities change. What's important today, may seem trivial in five years. But today, keep knocking. Knock three times, five times or whatever it takes. The key to success is, keeping your attention on intention.

Kennette Reed
http://www.kennettereed.com/
http://www.discoveringyourpassion.com/
http://www.stepsalongyourpath.com/
http://www.resiliencecoach.com/

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Kennette - I first want to say that I'm extremely pleased to see a sister continually knocking. You see I have been receiving your email marketing campaigns for a couple of years now and I simply deleted them. However one day I decided to open and read this persistent emailing to see how to unsubscribe. Well when I took time to read your email and saw your face I was pleasantly surprised and kicked myself for not at least reading your message sooner. You see I'm a small businessman myself (brother) and I'm trying to switch over my consulting business to a product selling model via SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) since we have some IP. However it is definitely a challenge to market/sell/get the word out! It takes $$$ and much knocking!! However I believe we will succeed. That said, how much do you estimate you allocate for marketing? (% of overall expenses) Nevertheless, keep up the good work!

Kennette said...

Dennis,

Thanks for your comments. I'm glad you finally decided to read my email (even though your original intent was to unsubscribe). Hopefully, you'll continue to read and in the process received useful and motivating information.

Marketing expenditures vary depending on the impact you want your message to have. There are many low and no-cost ways to market your business (newsletters, articles, press releases, blogs, etc.). The trick is to be both consistent and persistent.

I wish you the best in your business.