Memorial Day, originally Decoration Day, is a day to remember those who have died in the military service of our country. There are a number of stories and claims for the beginning of this holiday. One is that women’s groups in the South decorated graves before the end of the Civil War. Memorial Day was first observed in 1868 when flowers were placed on the graves of soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

There is a website (www.usmemorialday.org) which has great information on the history of Memorial Day and many other resources. It’s very impressive and humbling as well.

Years ago a common celebration was for families to visit the cemeteries of family members and place flowers on the graves of their military relatives who died fighting for the U.S. and our freedom. While they were there, the people usually decorated the graves of other family members as well. Many cemeteries placed, and still do, small flags to mark the graves of the service men and women. Many service organizations spend time putting out flags at the national cemeteries. What an awesome sight to see those flags decorating the final resting place of our soldiers!

For most of us, this holiday has become a three-day holiday to spend with our families. In itself spending time with our families is not all bad either. This year let’s make it more than that.

Memorial Day should be a special day. This year, please take some time to think about all the people who lost their lives making America the great place it is today. All of us have lost one of our own family members, know of a friend or neighbor who died in a war, or watch television programs about our military who have died for the U.S. War has touched all of our lives in one way or another.

If you have an hour, go to your local veteran’s memorial; almost every area of America has something like this; and take a few minutes there to contemplate your future and think about the people who helped make a future possible. Too many Americans take our freedom for granted and truly don’t understand the sacrifices others have made for us to live the way we live.

Take some time to also remember all the men and women currently serving all around the world on our behalf.

To all you veterans, thanks for your service. To all of you who had a family member or friend who served and are no longer with you, I thank you too.

This year – remember. God Bless America!

Recently I spoke to an awesome group of women in Troy, Ohio. A couple of days after the event, I got a nice note from Ruth who told me she enjoyed my presentation and finished by asking, “By the way, what is the ! after your name mean?” So to Ruth and everyone else, let me tell you.

I believe we all have choices; we can be happy or unhappy. Too many of us allow ourselves to be sucked into the negativity that others bring our way. We feel sorry for ourselves and we don’t realize that our attitude determines our altitude. I know, this sounds corny and some of you are thinking, “Marty, all the positive thinking in the world isn’t going to help the economy and solve all our problems.” Okay, if you believe that, take that attitude and see what it gets you.

I sign my name with an exclamation point as a constant reminder to myself of how important it is to be enthusiastic. I’m a self-proclaimed cheerleader. I love life, I love people, and I love the United States of America. We have some challenges right now, not going to argue with you there. But, if we all stick together, we can do some amazing things. For starters, if we become someone others want to be around, just that will make a difference. So, I ask you to join me by signing your name with an exclamation point to help you realize that YOU can make a difference and that you can win if you believe you can. Try it for a week and see how many people notice, work with a little extra energy, hand out some compliments, find the positive in all that you do. Make yourself someone others seek out to talk to, be a friend to all and listen to people. This will show you what an impact these simple things can make on your life and others.

People often tell me that they feel better after they talk to me. What they don’t realize is that I feel better by talking to them; we’ve helped each other! I am so lucky I am sought out for help. So, to Ruth, that’s why I sign my name with an exclamation point and that’s why I think everyone should do the same!

What are you spending your time on? I sure hope it’s on sales. Without sales your business will undoubtedly struggle. And I know it’s tough out there; no way would I try to tell you it’s not. So, this week I have 3 ideas to help you make some sales.

1. Find other companies that do business with people you also could do business with. Our landscaping company gets a lot of work from pool builders, remodeling companies, and realtors. We make sure they are on our mailing list and I stay in constant contact with them.
2. Provide unsolicited proposals for your goods and services. You don’t know if you don’t ask. I have sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of work to people who didn’t ask for what I proposed. I made a suggestion, got them interested and closed the sale. Think about who you know and what you have that they might be able to use and get to work.
3. Hustle. Yes, hustle; work hard and fast. The boom that has gone on for many of us in the last 10 years has spoiled us. We’ve gotten lazy and soft. Many of us quit calling on prospects after 5, don’t work weekends, and try to make our clients play by our rules. You may not like it, but that’s not going to work. Just last week I went out and sold a $400 job. I won’t get rich of this one, but it’s a sale and it’s a lot better than nothing. Besides, I think after I work with them on this little job, I can convince them to do the $7,500 patio next year and on that job, I will make some good money.

A few weeks ago, one of my best teammates, Kent, sent me an e-mail with this movie clip attached to it. I was very busy at the time and did not open it for a couple of days. When I did open it and watch it, it made me think and made me realize yet again all the little things we can and need to do to make doing business with our companies memorable. Please watch this clip right now and then think of a way you too can make your clients remember you. And, I think you’re going to get a life lesson out of this little video as well, so take 3 minutes and watch it right now.

www.stservicemovie.com

Hey…one last thing – keep your chin up; everything is going to be all right. I know it will be, but only if we think positively and talk about what we can do, not what we can’t do!