The Chris LoCurto Show

35 Ideas that will change your productivity. Use these simple strategies to increase efficiency and make an impact every day.

http://chrislocurto.com/downloadsWe all like to have freedom and independence to be creative and get things done. So as an Entrepreneur, how do you balance that in the workplace and create that great environment? I received a killer question the other day regarding autonomy in the workplace. Here's what Marc had to say:"We hear a lot about what makes a great workplace and I've read several things recently from people that I really respect and one of the things that is often recommended for a great workplace is team members having a sense of autonomy.That's great, but sometimes you have jobs that require a certain way of doing things. For example, we have a situation where we have an inside sales team and we'd like things said a certain way or presented a certain way and so on.We're not asking to read a script verbatim, but feel like we need things done a certain way because these are methods that have been developed over time and have been proven to work, and will ultimately make them more successful.With a sales team of over 30 people in two different locations, we feel the need for consistency in what's being said and presented. I'd love to hear some examples or stories of where a company has some guidelines of having to do things a certain way, but can still give their team members that sense of autonomy to create that great work environment. Thanks."This is kind of a difficult one, which in leadership, what's not difficult, right? When I think of autonomy, I think of it as being two types of things. One would be self-governing. Can you govern yourself?

http://chrislocurto.com/how-to-attract-customers/Forbes magazine said positive word of mouth is without question the most powerful factor in buying decisions today.The old number used to be that a satisfied customer will tell four or five people. A dissatisfied customer will tell up to 20. You can change the math on that now because a satisfied customer may tell 1,000 people. A dissatisfied customer might tell 2,000 people, given the advent of social media.So, how do you grow your company? What is the key to attracting customers to your business.Join me today on the podcast as a discuss with Joe Calloway, author of the book Magnetic, the art of attracting business.

http://chrislocurto.com/downloadsToday, on the podcast, we are answering a question that came in from one of our listeners.Justin writes, "I have to start with the obvious. Thanks for all that you guys are doing and keep killing it. I know you're always open to suggestions for podcast topics, and yes we are, so I wanted to throw out the idea of doing something high level on communication, and maybe topic in with your top 10 recommended books on communication.I loved your list on the poverty mindset. I know how important you think communication is, and I think most of your listeners could benefit from what you have to say on the topic and from the books you recommend. Thanks again, and keep up the good work."Thank you Justin, we appreciate all of that. I'm going to answer Justin's question but before I do I have created a tool for you to use to help you better communicate.There are some do's and some don'ts of body language when you're communicating effectively. So make sure that you get today's download if you want to know these things, and you want the power of understanding body language, and the things to do and not to do for effective communication.Here are the points we discuss:Verbal CommunicationNon-verbal Communication ListeningPatienceAsking QuestionsRespect Problem Solving Being Socially AwareSelf-ManagementResponsibility and AccountabilityAssertiveness

http://chrislocurto.com/downloads/First off, when I say audience, audience is somebody who is listening. It could be one person sitting across the desk from you, or it could be a theater filled with people. Anybody who you ask for attention from is an audience, and there is often an inherent value in that interaction based on performance. Performance in the way that we're looking at is about authenticity.The greatest performers in the world are the most honest ones, the most authentic ones. Performance is in large part about amplifying different parts of your personality in order to achieve a particular goal. We are talking with Michael Port, author of the book Steal the Show, How to Guarantee a Standing Ovation for All the Performances in Your Life.It's easy to start something and do okay, but it's the finishing that's the key. Your life is made up of lots of high stakes situations, and how you perform during those moments, and if you fall flat, then your life is relatively flat, but if you can shine when the spotlight's on you, then you get to do big things. That's exciting. The book focuses on feedback, how to give it, how to take it, how to get the kind of feedback that you want.Recognize that you don't need to be an entertainer to be a performer. That's really important to remember. You just need to be somebody who wants to connect with others and deliver on promises.Two different ways to reduce your anxiety about performing. They're internal, rather than external. There are certainly things you can do externally. You can try to calm your breath and warm up your body, but ultimately, the fear is inside you. It's not on the outside of you. It's on the inside. There are two ways that we can reduce that fear. One, we can be better prepared. One of the reasons that we are often afraid is because we are not as prepared as we would like to be. We don't know if we are going to be able to deliver what we want to deliver. If you're prepared, then you tend to be calmer.Number two; we get a lot more anxious when we get self-absorbed. Once we start thinking about ourselves, and we go, "Oh my God, I look fat in these pants," or "They're going to hate me," or "They're not going to believe anything I have to say," or "Who am I to say this? It's already been said," or any other number of things that we start to obsess on, when we obsess on those things, it just gets worse. Brainstorm your whole story. Sometimes, it helps recording it, because you were trying to flash it out. If we do it on audio, and then we listen back, and we can write it down, what we said or we can have it transcribed if it's a very long story. It's good to have just a big messy draft, because that way, what we're going to do is we're going to cut. I'm going to try to sculpt it, mold it, because a story has three acts. The first act is the exposition: the time, the setting, and the place. It's the information that the listener needs to know in order to understand what comes next.The second act is the conflict. It starts with inciting incidence. Something occurs that creates conflict, and that conflict spurs some kind of action, and that action might create more conflict, which then spurs some more action, which the spurs some more conflict. That's where the tension's created. Then, of course act 3 is the resolution. Resolution is the thing that we're waiting for. It's not always happy. Sometimes it's "they all lived happily ever after," and sometimes it's "they all died in the end." The resolution determines the length of the story, meaning if the resolution is worth waiting for, it's incredible powerful.

http://chrislocurto.com/downloadsDo you have any bad habits? Do you wonder why so many successful Entrepreneurs are able to create habits that contribute to their success while others can't seem to get them to stick? Well then you are in for a treat on today's podcast. The crazy, incredibly talented Gretchen Rubin in on to talk about that very thing! One of the things with happiness and habits, is to manage your own mind, to really think about the mood that you're in or the way that you're feeling and think about, "What can I do to fix this? That is the biggest myth is that there's a right habit that everyone should follow and it will work for everyone. There's all different factors that could influence whether someone found it easier or harder to keep their habit of exercise. An important clue is, when have you succeeded and when have you failed? How do you measure people against each other? How do you create a framework for understanding the patterns that we see? This thing almost melted my brain, it was so hard to grasp. I realized that when it comes to habits, people fell into four very striking patterns. I divided all of humanity into four. There are upholders, questioners, obligers, and rebels. So, the challenge for each of us is to take advantage of the strengths and counterbalance the weaknesses so we can get ourselves to the place we would want to be.

Mary Beth Fortner, a music teacher and former personal assistant to Chris LoCurto, shares her transformative journey through LifePlan, battling perfectionism and self-judgment. She discusses how vulnerability led to self-discovery, moving from fear to freedom. Insights about her past influences helped her reframe expectations in her teaching and personal life, fostering healthier relationships with her children and husband. Mary Beth encourages others to embrace the LifePlan experience for clearer perspectives and better decision-making.

149: 5 Essential Leadership Questions by Chris LoCurto: Entrepreneur, Leadership Coach, LifePlan, Blogger

http://chrislocurto.com/downloadsToday we're talking again about the power to grow. This is something that everybody who's in our coaching program, or our mastermind groups, is doing to grow their business. To grow their leadership. This is so powerful, and we've been doing this with our clients for years. Because it works. Because we keep helping.We've also got a phenomenal download. There's 10 things, 10 things that will help you find a group. This is coming straight out of our groups. The things that are making our clients absolutely successful!Network Of Challenging Minds - Like minded individuals who are focused on pushing each other to grow themselves and others in the process in the same area ie. Entrepreneur, leadership, small business.There Is incredible Power In Community - There are 2 aspects to community. Having it, having people around you to keep you from being isolated in your own thoughts. It’s also a community of people that are sharing the same experience.Accountability - People willing to take on the responsibility to hold others accountable to their own expectations. How they accomplish this is by not filling their own needs but by helping others to achieve theirs.

Brent Van Haren, a family-business leader and advocate of personal growth, shares his transformative experiences with LifePlan and StratPlan. He discusses how StratPlan reshaped his business focus and direction, describing it as the most impactful event during his eight years in the company. Brent reflects on the life-changing insights from LifePlan, including emotional boundaries and generational influence, while encouraging others to embrace these programs for profound personal and cultural growth.