Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Mutual of Omaha video

Mutual of Omaha is running a series of video shorts on its website and on television.

There is an especially poignant one where an older man named "Bob" tells of his "Aha moment" writing his memoirs. It is worth a quick watch. I'd love to capture that man's Life Story.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Drawing Out Wisdom From Parents

A very wise and insightful piece as in the New York Times a few days ago. Thanks to Legacy Consultant Jody Murphy for bringing it to my attention. Writer Anne Roark describes the major insights from Henry Alford's new book How to Live: A Search for Wisdom From Old People.

The article articulates the satisfactions that accrue to all who undertake the preservation of life stories and lessons. It even has some handy "how to advice" on managing interviews.

A final word if you’re still reluctant to start the interviewing. Mr. Alford says that people are “repositories of knowledge” and the elderly “the keepers of wisdom,” and he cites an old African saying: “The death of an old person is like the burning of a library.” Many people have complicated relationships with parents, but all of us love libraries.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Roots Television

Roots Television is an interesting channel to check out. I posted this simple video yesterday. I'll add some more Legacy Consultant seeking material next week.

Association Partnership Program


Priceless Legacy is piloting a new initiative called the Association Partnership Program ("APP"). Many associations, organizations and groups, share Priceless Legacy's commitment to the importance of life story preservation. These groups include churches, temples, affinity and community organizations, schools, and non-profits. Some seek content for social programs and others strive to offer value for their membership. Most also seek innovative programs and means for assisting fundraising efforts, especially in these trying economic times.

These associations understand that the preservation of life stories is a service to the subjects themselves, their families, and their communities.

The Priceless Legacy Company is pleased to offer the APP to help groups reach these objectives through support of our company's mission to preserve life stories and lessons.

The Association Partnership Program offers groups:

Revenue (donation) sources
Discounts for membership
Intellectual content for programs
An innovative recognition program for members and donors.

When an association or group accepts the Priceless Legacy APP, it will be eligible for a 10% royalty on sales of Life Story packages payable at the completion of each story process. (Half of this comes out of the LC's compensation and the other half from the company). In addition, the company will honor a $50 discount for all members of the group.

In return, the company requires good faith access to the membership of the group. This may include but is not limited to non-cost access to print and email newsletters and magazines, live educational events ("Legacy Workshops") and other marketing mentions as appropriate and available.

The reason that the LC must "chip" in to fund half of the royalty is to make sure that it makes good business sense to strike the deal with the association. Many times, you will get access to these organizations with out having to "strike a deal." So don't lead with the idea, just hold it in reserve (and get authorization from the company first).

In order to qualify for the APP, the Association or Group must complete the APP Qualification Form and submit it to the Legacy Consultant or directly to the company. It will be in the Resource Center online by Friday.

Give us feedback as we test this exciting concept.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Getting excited, staying motivated and making money

An insightful piece from the Success Factory. I assume it was written by Theresa Garrison.


Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a lady who was a relatively new party plan consultant. I listened as she spoke flatly and unenthusiastically about her new business venture that was not going as well as expected. Her initial efforts to book parties seemed fruitless. Add to that the initial out-of-pocket expenses required for purchasing her kit and a few business supplies and her initial excitement at the prospect of being her own boss was quickly waning. Frankly, she really sounded as though she was ready to throw in the towel… already.

In the past several decades, we have morphed into a society that expects instant gratification. By just the push of a button we have the ability to instantly communicate with family and friends via our PC’s and cell phones, we can have a ready-to-eat delicious meal in just seconds with the help of our microwave. We can shop online and put together a great outfit or order that book we just heard about on Oprah this morning and it will be on our doorstep tomorrow.

So, it is no wonder that to some, cash outflow plus hard work with no immediate return equals drudgery and frustration.

Do you have what it takes to be a smart business person – one who can manage her finances in a way that makes you truly profitable? Are you a natural born leader, someone with vision who can see past the challenges in order to achieve their goal?

Did you know that only 3% of people write down their goals? Interestingly enough, 3% of the population are millionaires. Hmmm, do you see the correlation?

I think that it is safe to say that there are some people who are natural born leaders and naturally good at the details of finances and managing their business in a cost effective way. This is how God wired them from the time they were first created. For the majority of us, however, this is learned behavior

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Family Service Starter Kit Package

Another opportunity for a new Legacy Consultant who is sure that their first Life Story is to be about their own loved one is the Family Service Starter Kit Package. It allows the new LC to purchase their Start Kit and first book at the same time.

A new Legacy Consultant may choose to purchase a non‐commission paying Life Story
Package and a Starter Kit at the same time for a discount. This special Family Service Starter Kit Package is $949. It is perfect for the new Legacy Consultant who knows that they want to do their first package for their own family or a friend.

a. Payments will be three of $316.33 at order, text production, and final delivery.
b. The FSSKP does not pay commission or any compensation to the primary LC (who is
purchasing) to include the Founder’s Quick Start Program.
c. Shipping and tax are additional.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Family Service Incentive Program

Priceless Legacy encourages LCs to purchase Life Stories for the enjoyment of their own families or close friends. It is assumed and intended, but not required, that the incentive Life Story Package be used for family purposes. Therefore the company offers two special incentives:

Choice I

If an LC sells one Life Story (“A”) within 30 days of enrollment at full price, he or she may purchase a second Life Story package (“B”) for $499.

Choice II


If an LC sells two Life Stories (“A1” and “A2”) within 60 days of enrollment at full normal price, he or she may purchase a third Life Story package (“B”) for $299.
a. No commission or compensation is paid to the LC for the “incentive” or “B” Life Story
b. The “incentive” Life Story (“B”) pays commission to team on a face value basis (that is a percentage per the comp plan of the actual cost of that Life Story (e.g. $499 or $299).
c. The “incentive” Life Story must be completed within 120 days of enrollment.

We fight complexity but some times we need to get a bit creative. If an LCs desire to obtain a Life Story for a loved one drives them to do one or two other Life Stories, then all the better!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

FamilyHistoryQuickStart.com

Lots of good "do it yourself" tools and content at this site:

Family History Quick Start Guides

Technorati

Add to Technorati Favorites

Aging in America Conference Video

I shot some simple video at the Aging in America Conference in Las Vegas last week.

I had trouble loading it up to this blog but it is at Facebook and Youtube. Please check it out at either place.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Lucky in Life

Tom Gilbert writes an informative blog and enewsletter called Your-Life-Your-Story. He is also a Priceless Legacy Consultant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I always enjoy his writing, but I particularly enjoyed a piece from this month's newsletter called Lucky in Life.


Have you ever noticed that some people just seem to be lucky in life? They have great success in work and love. Good things just come to them. It’s almost like they are a magnet attracting good fortune.

On the flipside there are those who can’t seem to catch a break. They suffer setbacks and difficulties. Their life is like the line in the blues song, Born Under a Bad Sign, “if it wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have no luck at all”.

While it appears that some people are born lucky while others are cursed the truth is that most people have good and bad experiences. What really matters is how we respond to these life situations. We can’t go through life without taking some responsibility for our actions. And if we are aware, grateful for each day, respectful of others and willing to be part of life – living it to the fullest – we’ll find we have “luck in life”.

I’m convinced that capturing our life stories – writing them down or recording them in some fashion – is beneficial. It helps us make sense of our lives, gain perspective, pass on valuable family history and I think it is even good for your health. A recent study conducted by Emory University documents how teenage children had lower rates of depression, anxiety and anger when they were able to retell family stories passed down to them by their parents (see the story by Sue Shellenbarger in the Wall Street Journal).

Give yourself a lucky break. Do something about capturing your life story. There are many ways to do it – see How to Tell Your Story for a few suggestions.


Insightful thoughts during otherwise troubled times . . .

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Aging in America Huge Success

Priceless Legacy Chief Operating Officer, Bruce Cramer, and I spent the last three days in Las Vegas. No time for the tables, however, because we were hard at work manning our booth at the American Society on Aging and National Council on Aging's "Aging in America Conference."

Although our feet and backs are tired, it was a great show. We had no fewer two hundred of the three thousand attendees stopped by to check us out (the company that it :) ).

The feedback was uniformly positive. Many of the "senior industry" attendees were eager to learn more about becoming Legacy Consultants. Others were "window shopping" for their own parents. Everyone endorsed the need for life story preservation services. Indeed, I may need to have my ego brought down a notch because I have never had a three day period where so many strangers declared me "brilliant" for founding this company at this time. I explained to all of them that no degree of "brilliance" would have impact on people's lives if we do not attract and retain the right Legacy Consultants through the country.

I will blog more about this topic over the coming days. For now, American Airlines is calling . . .

Monday, March 16, 2009

Legacy Workshops are Effective

Along with a different Legacy Consultant at each, I spoke with two different groups at independent senior living residences on Saturday. At both we conducted Legacy Workshops just like we advocate in the training in the Priceless Legacy Resource Center.

Both Executive directors where very happy to have us in to address the groups and both groups where dynamic and engaged. We started with group discussions about the residents' own grandparents and then talked about how life story capture and preservation was critical, if nothing else, out of respect to those ancestors. For once the seniors agreed that they cherished the stories of their own grandparents and parents, they were rhetorically unable to make the case that their own stories were not worthy of preservation. We then talked about how life story preservation was a gift to the subject, the family and the community.

I would predict that at least half of the 25 seniors or so who attended these workshops will do life stories with us and the others will do something on their own. Mission accomplished!

It was time well spent and I suggest that all Legacy Consultants reach out to local senior groups to schedule Legacy Workshops. They work and they are fun.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Obituary Televsion Channel in Quebec

Interesting news from Canada. A Quebec entrepreneur is starting a cable news channel dedicated to broadcasting obituaries. It is nice to see so many novel approaches to memorializing. Of course, I believe that it is far better to capture and celebrate the stories of the living that to wait for their passing.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Pass the Microphone

“Pass the Microphone”
Family Story Sharing Exercise

“Pass the Microphone” is an exercise that can be the centerpiece of a Priceless Legacy “Open Book Gathering.”

Concept:

The Legacy Consultant asks the group a question and then passes the Digital Audio Recorder to each person who answers in a meaningful and personal manner. After the Gathering, the LC will upload the audio file to the Priceless Legacy website where it will be available for listening.

Points to consider:

1. Participation is voluntary
2. Guests may choose not to disclose their names on the recording.
3. Answers should be personal but not too wordy.

Purpose:

1. Icebreaker for guests
2. Put guest in a “thinking about legacy” frame of mind
3. Reinforce importance and universality of the life story preservation mission
4. Make the LC familiar with the Digital Audio Recorder

Process:

1. LC explains ground rules.
a. Recording may be placed on the Internet so they may not want to use their name.
b. Don’t have to answer anything that is uncomfortable.
2. LC asks the first question (and volunteers to “go first”). Speaks into the microphone and then passes it to the next guest. Each guest has an opportunity to answer the question and then the process is repeated. Possible questions are:
a. “One thing I wish I knew about my grandparents is . . .”
b. “I want my children (or grandchildren or nieces and nephews) to remember this about my grandparents or parents . . .”
c. “I am pleased or proud that I have done this to preserve my parents’ or grandparents’ life story . . .” (e.g. genealogy study, scrapbook, photo album, life story book etc.) – Gives LC opportunity to talk about the steps she or he has taken.
d. Ask the group to suggest other questions at this point . . .
3. After the questions and answers have stopped (20-40 minutes) , stop the recorder. Later, upload the audio file to the PLC website for publication per instructions (to be developed).

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Talented Legacy Consultants!

Our Legacy Consultants have all sorts of talent. Check out Shane Whalen of Dallas. He is (obviously) an accomplished musician.

Shane has completed one Life Story with two more ordered and in the works. Good job all around Shane!

PRICELESS LEGACY COMPANY OFFERS MISSION, MEANING AND MONEY JUST WHEN WE NEED ALL THREE

This is a press release that we are presenting to selected media outlets to help tell our story:

A new company dedicated to helping older people preserve their life stories seeks to train and deploy up to 700,000 part-time workers throughout the country.

Dallas, Texas – March 12, 2009 - The Priceless Legacy Company launched just as the world was falling apart in the fall of 2008. Far from seeing the economic climate as an impediment to survival and growth, the young company sees much to drive optimism and hope for the future.

Priceless Legacy is dedicated to helping older people preserve their life stories for the benefit of this and future generations. The company publishes beautiful Life Story packages that include hardcover color books and audio/visual DVDs. The company is deploying work-from-home part-time Legacy Consultants who sell the engagements, interview the subjects, organize their photos and manage the draft review process. Priceless Legacy has devised a custom publishing system that creates a one-of-a-kind personal biography that is not dependent on the writing skill or interest of the subject.

With over four people dying in America every minute, we have a need to capture the stories of at least 2.4 million people per year. If we assume three stories per Legacy Consultant, we need to find, train and deploy 700,000 or more!

Consider:

1. Demographics are destiny; the recession is only temporary. 55 million seniors today will grow to 75 million over the next ten years.
2. The harsh economic climate has forced people to focus on the important things in life: family, heritage, love and mutual support. The company says: “Honor now. Remember forever."
3. More people are looking for part-time work from home or moonlighting opportunities to hedge or replace their full-time jobs.
4. While people seek economic security, they also yearn for work with meaning and purpose.
5. The “Silent Generation” has so much to teach younger people about resiliency and staying power.
6. Great companies have been launched in uncertain economic times. Especially those with an enduring social mission.


Almost everyone has had the experience of either regret at not having taken the steps to preserve a life story or the strong sense that it should be done and they don’t know how to get started and finished. Using our process, our Legacy Consultants can help anyone preserve the life stories of their loved ones while there is still time to do it.


About The Priceless Legacy Company (www.pricelesslegacy.com)

Based in Dallas, Texas, The Priceless Legacy Company is a privately held custom book publishing company dedicated to helping people preserve their life legacies for the benefit of future generations. The company connects with people through its fast expanding network of Legacy Consultants. Currently active in twelve states, PLC’s Legacy Consultants help people record their life stories. Services include interviewing, photo organizing and scanning and the production of beautiful heirloom quality Life Story books.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Life Stories: Children Find Meaning in Old Family Stories

There was a great column in today's Wall Street Journal by Sue Shellenbarger entitled Life Stories: Children Find Meaning in Old Family Tales. It very nicely reminded us how children listen and learn from the tales of our family members even when we think they are not paying attention. Shellenbarger cites research from Emory University that children aged 14-16 had a lower rate of depression, anxiety and acting out of frustration or anger when they were able to "retell their parents' stories."

This is a fantastic reminder of the importance of our mission. . . now with research to prove what we already intuitively know.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Idaho Falls Conference

Priceless Legacy Chief Operating Office Bruce Cramer and I traveled to Idaho Falls, Idaho last week to consult with two industry leading direct sales experts at Launch Smart.

We covered a wide range of topics and learned a great deal about a variety of issues and I will summarize some major points here. In general, both Dave Taylor and Terrel Transtrum were highly complimentary about Priceless Legacy's mission, initial execution and progress to date.

Specific areas that we need to do more work are:

1. Clearly defining the "Success Cycle" for new Legacy Consultants. - this means laying out in very clear terms what the three or four key steps that must be taken by the LC in their first two weeks after sign up to have success and make progress. We have done this to some degree but it is obvious that we must be more clear.

2. Getting more Legacy Consultants through their first Life Story quicker after sign up. Again, we have been encouraging LCs to "jump in with both feet," but not everyone is getting that message. We will develop incentives and other programs to speed this process.

3. New products beyond the Life Story and Couple's Life Story. This has always been part of the plan but we will accelerate the introduction of Audio Only, Photo Only, Life Lesson and maybe Heirloom Inventory products.

These are high level summaries but the important take-away is that we are deadly serious about our mission and our drive for success.

Oh, and as of this week, we'll have 50 Legacy Consultants in twelve states. Too bad there is no time to rest.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

AIM UP

I have been working on a mnemonic device to summarize the communication points that a Legacy Consultant or anyone interested in life story preservation should remember.

So far, I have developed AIM UP

A - Awareness - you must let people know your passion and the process you can lead to accomplish effective life story preservation.

I - Importance - Let people know why life story preservation is important to individuals, families and communities.

M - Motivation
- Make it clear to people why they should care about this vital issue.

U - Urgency
- Explain to people why they must act NOW!

P - Promotion
- Think about how you will spread this important message.

It is not all encompassing, but think about it. I'll keep working to fine tune this message.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Disco Bar, Dancing & Selling Life Story Preservation

In a staff meeting this morning, I was grasping for straws to make a point and I came up with an analogy that may (or may not!) resonate with our readers.

Imagine a hip dance club (what may have been called a Disco in a more naive time . . .). Who is effective at meeting members of the opposite sex? Is it the bling-bedazzled obnoxious guy who "hits on" every woman in the place with a direct "Hey baby, what's happening?" Or, is it the man or woman on the dance floor who is moving with the beat and clearly enjoying him or herself? With whom would you rather hang out?

Selling the life story preservation concept is much the same way. The ones who exhibit confidence and authenticity (who metaphorically really enjoy the "music") are successful and the ones who think a hard-core frontal assault is the only way are most often disappointed.

Show your passion, tell your story and be authentic. Good results follow.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Marketing for Introverts Blog.

I found a great blog that applies very well to the mindset of some of our Legacy Consultants. It is called Marketing4Introverts by Dhyan Atkinson of Boulder, Colorado and highly I recommend it.


The “B” word
November 3, 2008 by marketing4introverts
I rarely find myself at a total loss with any of my clients but I got caught off guard by one of them not so long ago! We were talking about her reluctance to market and she almost whispered, “I just can’t bring myself to use the “B” word about myself.”

“The “B” word?” I thought ( …and I bet your mind and mine jumped to the same first guess!) but the word that first came to my mind seemed particularly inappropriate in the case of this polite, friendly, middle-class woman who wanted to start a professional organizing business of her own. “Which “B” word?” I asked cautiously.

“Business person,” she replied, as if the words left a bad taste in her mouth. “I am totally happy seeing myself as a Professional Organizer but I just can’t picture myself as a business person.”

Hearing this admission, I felt myself back on solid ground. You might be surprised at how many small business owners I come across who are comfortable thinking of themselves as practitioners of a particular profession… but feel totally uncomfortable thinking of themselves as business owners, marketing professionals, or sales persons. Usually this is because these roles have activities associated with them that my potential clients don’t feel comfortable doing.

Sometimes, however, there is a sense of guilt or shame attached to the concept “business person.” One of my recent clients came from a family who had all been service professionals for generations… doctors, nurses, lawyers. She herself was a social worker. For her, the “M” word, was a hard one… “Money.” For twenty years, her services to her clients had been paid for by a non-profit organization. She had never had to think about how much time she spent with her clients. They got as much of her attention as they needed - she wasn’t paid by the hour. The idea of asking someone to pay her for her time was appalling to her.

If you are like either of these two business people and have strong feelings of aversion to some aspect of business you cannot “avoid and still stay in business” here are a six tips for addressing the problem:

First you have to recognize that your feelings are acquired and not “Reality-with-a-capital R.” How can you tell? Because if EVERYONE on the planet felt as you do there would BE no businesses. Clearly business is happening all around you and by good people! So the problem is INSIDE you, not outside. This is very good news because if a problem is “yours” there is a much better chance that you can actually do something about it!
This still may not make you feel any better. The second step is to just give a little thought to where you picked up this belief, attitude or feeling. Did it come from your family? Did something happen to you in the past? Did you pick it up in response to some cultural archetype? (For example, many people have strong, negative associations for the word “sales person” but don’t think twice about the fact that they meet good, helpful, informative sales people all the time - many more, in fact, than the few “sales alligators” they may come across.) If you can identify WHERE you picked up this limiting belief, it may help you in starting to unravel it.
Here is another eye-opener: Get a piece of paper and fold it in half lengthwise. On the left list all the good things that will happen if you change this belief to it’s opposite. On the right list all the bad things you believe will happen. Take a really good and careful look at the negative side. Are all those things really true? I once had a client who strongly believed that he would lose the respect of all his friends if he really did sales for his business. As a result he had become so obscure in his efforts to talk about his product that very few people even knew what he was talking about, much less that he was sounding them out to gauge their interest in buying. Four weeks after our first sessions, with a professional sales dialogue under his belt and new marketing activities up and running, he had changed his mind. His friends showed a great deal of admiration for his courage at starting his own business and were delighted to hear about his success. Much to his surprise, they even expressed a little envy!
Have the courage to check your belief out with a few trusted business colleagues. I bet you are going to find other people who felt reluctant at first to do marketing and sales, or had trouble really embracing the fact that they were now business people. Realizing that you are not the only one who has felt this way can help a lot. And, in addition, you may come across someone who shares a good tip with you about how to overcome your fear.
Try this sentence on for size, “If I have to do xyz (marketing, networking, sales, whatever you dread!) for my business then I am going to find some good way to enjoy doing it, and I’m going to get good at it!” What comes up for you when you say that aloud? Do you immediately know what your first steps should be?
Finally, (and of course I WOULD mention this being who I am) get some help if you need it. It can be really hard being a sole-proprietor and working on changing your own unconscious, negative beliefs or work to overcome the things that hold you back in your business. Sometimes a little focused help with a business consultant can move you through this problem more quickly than you can do it on your own.

Monday, March 2, 2009

The Biographer's Craft

My letter to the Editor was featured in the March newsletter of The Biographer's Craft.

It has already generated many interesting inquiries from high quality Legacy Consultant candidates.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Ethical Wills in the Denver Post

The Denver Post ran a very comprehensive article about Ethical Wills on Feb 22. I prefer the term Legacy Letter or LifeLesson Book. As Priceless Legacy continues to grow, I look forward to developing a product line around these important publications. Not just the elderly should think about preparing a LifeLesson Book. I have prototyped one already, but the company will not introduce products like that for at least a year. We need to remain focused on our LifeStory business. It is where the need clearly is today.

In fact, I calculated today that with 2.3 million Americans dying each year, we are going to need 700,000 Legacy Consultants to capture all those stories if each one does 3 per year! . . . and we assume that 200,000 preserve their stories themselves. I doubt we'll ever get that large but we won't run out of work either!