Worth Reading! Worth Sharing! Worth Implementing!

If there is one book worth reading, one book worth sharing and one book worth implementing this month and in 2010, it is: What Matters Now by Seth Godin! More than 70 extraordinary authors and thinkers contributed to this ebook.

The results you will receive will be REMARKABLE! However, the person you become in the process will be the greatest value you get. So go ahead, download What Matters Now for free, and don't forget to share it just like I'm sharing it with you!

Thanks for reading! Thanks for downloading! Thanks for sharing! Thanks for make a difference!

Here's to What Matters!
Mikhail Baynes

The Greatest Work Ever!

This philosophy has transformed my life for the better, I believe it will do the same for you if you take it to heart. It was echoed through my soul when I first heard it from my all time favourite mentor, The World Foremost Business Philosopher, The Great Jim Rohn (17 September, 1930 to 5 December, 2009). He said, "Work harder on yourself than you do anything else. Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job, you will make a living. If you work harder on yourself, you will make a fortune."

It's about being better this month, than last month. Being better today than you were yesterday. Being better this hour than you were last hour. It's all about continuous improvement because direction determines destination. Who you are becoming (direction) shapes what you get (destination). As Jim would say, "The major value in life is not what you get, that's the minor value. The major value is who you are becoming." And that's worth thinking about! Who are you becoming? What direction are you heading? Is it to the destination you desire to be at? If not, change. Change your thoughts, change your choices, change your language, and change your habits. With that you will change your life.

Decide and commit to transforming your life for the better. Doing the greatest work in the world, working on yourself daily because if you will change, everything will change for you. If you will get better, everything will get better for you. It's not about being a better somebody else, it's about being a better you. I can assure you it's one of the greatest feeling in the world. It lets you sleep like a baby when the night comes.

Here's to life change for the better, to working on self so that we can become a person of attraction that success will want to invite in at her dinner table!

Thanks Jim Rohn for transforming my life for the better. Thanks for being here. For making a difference. And doing work that matters.

Here's to Greatest Work in the World!
Mikhail Baynes

The Greatest Business Principle Ever

Have you ever been asked what's the function of a business? If not, then I'm asking you, "What's the function of a business?" I'm sure many of you said to make profits which is exactly what I said when I was first asked. Well, that's absolutely wrong!

The function of a business is not to make profits, that's the goal of a business. The function of a business is "to get and keep customers." You probably wondering, now why is that the greatest business principle ever. It's greatest business principle ever because if you get the function and the goal confused you go out of business. If you focus on making money, you don't make money. Hence, the reason 95 percent of businesses fail in their first year. However, if you focus on getting and keeping customer, you indirectly make money. By focusing on getting and keeping customers, the goal of the business automatically becomes a byproduct and you make money.

What's the main function of a CEO? To be the leader of the company and ensure that achieves its objectives. It's to get and keep customers! What's the function of a receptionist? To answer the phones and take messages. It's to get and keep customers! What's the function of the accounting department? To ensure the company keeps a positive cashflow. It's to get and keep customers! Now don't get me wrong, all those secondary functions are important. However, by creating a culture that focuses on getting and keeping customers, we hit our goal of the business that is to make profits.

I have seen in my experiences of being in business for the past 5 years, where we gave back customers their money- thousands of dollars! We may have been correct, however, sometimes in order to win the war, we got to lose the battle. It's better to have a positive, memorable experience with your customer where they go spreading that story of joy. In doing so, they bring 10 to probably 100 new customers because of that incident. Remember, that each person knows personally and has a reasonable relationship with 250 persons. When you lost a sale to one person, it's not just one person by them telling their network of friends you lost a sale to probably 250 persons. That's worth thinking about!

The function of a business is not to make profits, that's the goal of a business. The function of a business is to get and keep customers. Here's to building that culture in your business.

Here's To Your Success,
Mikhail Baynes

Are You Clear? Crystal!

"Are we clear? Yes, Sir. Are we clear? Crystal!", the classic line from the movie, A Few Good Men. Thus, I ask you, "Are You Clear?" Are you clear on your goals? Are you clear on your reasons? Are you clear on your plans? Because clarity brings success. When we are clear on your objectives, it allows us to focus on the results we are seeking and focus always precedes success.

My friend and category-creating Chief Marketing Officer, John Digles, is one of the best marketers around. This November, he won 4 major awards for his category-creating marketing strategies. One thing I can tell you about John by being mentored by him is that, he always deal with the specifics. Who are we looking to reach with our message? What's the story we want to convey? What's our objective? What are the strategies and tactics to achieve our objective?

I remember during my Faces of Caribbean Airlines campaign in August, we had a series of great days at the polls and then, it dropped one day. I mentioned this to John, and I will never forget his response. He said, "Mikhail, what's our target for today?" I thought he would show me some sympathy. However, that's how champions think and execute, they focus on their objectives and get clear on their reasons.

When you have vague goals with vague reasons, you get vague results. When you have vivid goals and you are crystal clear on your reasons, you receive remarkable results. We are approaching the end of 2009, with the beginning of 2010. Now is an excellence time to get clear on your goals and reasons for 2010, because success leaves clues and that's what the champions are doing at this time of the year.

I hope when I ask you in the near future, "Are You Clear?" Your response will be, "Crystal!"

Here's to Clarity,
Mikhail Baynes

How Much Do You Care?

It is said by The World Foremost Business Philosopher, Jim Rohn, "The more you care, the stronger you are." There's truth to that statement. Earlier this week, I was in a meeting with a very successful young friend of mines and the question came up, "What's her greatest strength?" I pondered for a bit, and then I said it, "You genuinely care for people, that's your greatest strength. You genuinely care for people, by this I mean you have an sincere interest in people and when you give, you do it because you really care, not for what you can get."

When you look at the true successful entrepreneurs and bloggers, they genuinely care for readers, customers. For example, Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuk, these marketing icons that truly care about their readers not what they can get, but how they can contribute to their reader's lives so that it can be better. And because they care like that, they receive bountiful rewards. Another example, is my great friend and marketing mentor, Bob Burg. Bob's caring is almost God like, once he can do what's in his power to assist you regardless of what you can do for him, he does it. Once more, because of such caring, he receives a loyal following amongst his readers, clients, friends and all those who come in contact with him.

Here are the questions for all of us to answer:

"How much do you care?"
"Why do you care?"
"Is your caring genuine?"

I end with this quote from the Legend, Jim Rohn: "If you care at all, you get some results. If you care enough, you get incredible results."

Here's to Your Caring,
Mikhail Baynes

Overnight Success!

Overnight Success, is there such a thing? When champions enter into the winner's circle, did it happen overnight? Sometimes, how the stories are told in the media it may appear that way. However, there's always a story behind the story.

To develop mastery in your chosen field, ask any top performer in your field and they will tell you that it took focused discipline over a period of time in mastering the basics to become a master at their craft. The countless hours on the golf course and basketball court to develop their skills, is one of the attributes that makes Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan the legends they have become. According to Malcolm Gladwell's best-selling book, Outliers, it normally takes 10,000 hours to develop mastery in your chosen field. Are you putting in the practice hours so that when game day comes for you, you will excel so that people will want to hear your story?

Legendary Inspirational Speakers, Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn, we are looking at decades of practice and working on their craft to deliver a speech that captures the attention and peaks the interest of their audience to inspire them to transform their lives. Few people see the hours of practice that make champions. However, they do see the spotlight, the fame and the glory. In order to receive the spotlight, the fame and glory, you got to put in the hours of practice and preparation, and develop the habits of champions.

Are you willing to pay the price of SUCCESS? Let's pay the price of success because it's far easier than paying the price of mediocrity!

Here's to Your Success,
Mikhail Baynes

Online Video of the Faces of Caribbean Airlines Finale & Thank You!

This post is a bit overdue, however, I too do suffer from procrastination : ) It has been AMAZING journey and fun taking part in the Faces of Caribbean Airlines competition. I'll like to thank our committed supporters, our community and hard working marketing team because without you I wouldn't have been able to achieve what we did.

Thanks to my marketing mentors: Bestselling Co-Author of the Go-Giver, Bob Burg and to John Digles, Category-Creating CMO for believing in me. Special thanks to three of my great friends and business partners, Anderson Chester, Dominic Hackett and Dr. Amanda Jones for their support before and throughout the campaign. Thanks to my photographer, Ron Charles for those outstanding images that people keep talking about. My video editor, Lerone Daniel for the production that a lot of people liked. To my family and friends too numerous to mention for the support, you all are REMARKABLE.

It's timely to send this post out, as Caribbean Airlines just released the Faces of Caribbean Airlines Video for those of you that missed it and those of you that want to view the historic event once more. Check out the video, click here!

Here's to Our Award Winning Photo Click here!

It has been fun getting to know my fellow Faces of Caribbean Airlines (here's a picture of us, click here) because it's going to be outstanding and fun year ahead. Thanks to Pixie Du Coudray for co-coordinating an awesome competition, well done. Thanks to Caribbean Airlines for giving us the opportunity to represent your brand.

Live Great, Laugh Often, Love More and Lead Better. LIFE IS TO ENJOY!

Here's to a REMARKABLE Year!
Mikhail Baynes
Caribbean Airlines Ambassador
The Warmth of the Islands