You’ve got your brand (personal or business) all wrapped up and packaged in a pretty box.  Logo…check.  Tag Line…check.  A list of your best projects and outcomes…check.  Your business site is up and running .  You’ve marketed and promoted, but your results are coming up short.  You’ve landed the job or the client, but people aren’t responding, listening or engaged in your message, it seems.
Is the problem what’s inside your box?

Often we seek to attract others to us in personal and business relationships, but our interactions don’t always get us the results we want.  Communications are misunderstood and misinterpreted, or the opionions others have of us, our employees or company is not what we want.  We focus time and energy on campaigns, copy and getting the right communication, but  people don’t feel great, valued, and in good hands when they interact with us.  If so, we may need to refill the box.

People, brands, and companies who’ve placed a lot of focus on building the right packaging but have neglected the development of core values and integrity needed to be successful are like big, pretty, albeit empty boxes. How we interact as well as our personas make as big an impact as our message.  It’s not just enough to look good.  How we engage and interact with people make a huge difference as to whether or not we get another chance to have our messages heard.

What’s going inside of us and people and companies shape every interaction we have.  Happy and fulfilled  people make happy employees and business owners.  Happy and fulfilled employees and business owners make happy customers.  Happy customers come back. Period.  The opposite is also true.  Every person we encounter is a customer on some level.  Friends, family, spouses, peer, employees, clients all interact with us on a daily basis.   Cultivating positivity and integrity are essential for success. So how do we do this?  What needs to be in the box?

Fill the Box With Gratitude

Nothing inspires positivity faster and more consitently than focusing on the good in your life.  Before you start any communications, spend some time focusing on everything good in your life.  Yes, even as a business strategy.  Focus on everything good, the material and the intangible.  Spending just a few minutes every day in this place with change your focus to the postive.  Ask yourself, what am I thankful for today? 

Fill The Box With Inspiration

What inspires you?  Inspiration motivates us towards passion and purpose.  Read, view or listen to something inspirational daily.  Refuel your mind and emotions with positive things that motivate you and shift your perspective towards positivity.  What you pour into you pours out of you in your attitude and communications. 

Fill the Box with Passion

Be enthusiastic and passionate about what you bring to the table and what you are communicating.  Great communicators and leaders are excited about the possibilities.  If you arent’ excited about you, your message, your product or brand, who will be?  What is special about you, your company, product or service?  Focus on those things and get excited about them.  If you’re not excited about it, search for the positive.  If you can’t find the positive and expand upon it, get rid of it and start again.  Without genuine passion and enthusiasm for what you’re doing,  success and motivation to continue will be short-lived. 

Fill the Box With Service

I hear people say all the time “It’s all about me”, and “Look out for Number 1″.  Both of those mantras are fear based and keep you from being the best you can be in any area.  We are at our best when we are trying to help others.  Think of ways to serve others, without serving yourself.  What can you develop that will help someone else?  What can you do for someone to make their day.  Make it a point to do something for someone else, daily. Even when developing products and services, make your primary goal value to the customer and monetization.  How can you make relationship with you better?  How can you make your client’s business soar? 

Fill the Box with Kindness

Be kind to others.  Encourage others. Find out what’s important to the people.  Whether it’s family or customers, people want to feel special.  Treat each person as if they are important to you.  Find something to appreciate in each person.  Everyone is vauable, even those people with different opinions, views and backgrounds.  Look for the commonalities and good in people. 

How we treat others in business and personal relationships matters.  What’s inside of us comes out of us.  It takes more than good marketing to keep people coming back to you again and again.  Focusing some attention on what is inside will help relationships improve.  By focusing on gratitude, service, passion, inspiration and kindness, you can transform your relationships, communication, business and life.