He’s 40 already???

My brother turned 40 today (October 4th).  Yes, I can’t believe it myself.  Now ALL of my mother’s children in their 40′s.  Weird.  I actually remember the first time I saw my brother drive, I felt old – and I was only 21.  Holy cow, that was 29 years ago and I see it as if it were yesterday.  Wow, am I sounding old!

Anyway, my brother lives out of state, so I didn’t have the opportunity to be there for his special day.  However, I knew a personal card would have to do, and I wanted to make it special.  I knew that he would both love what I had in mind – and HATE it.  (and that’s what would make it fun!)  I had taken an adorable picture of his look-alike son with a comtemplative look on his face.  On the front of the card I had that picture with a thought bubble that simple said, “40?”  (That’s the part I knew he would love!) 

On the inside cover of the card there was every single school picture from kindergarten through graduation.  Ok, he’s adorable, but he never thought so. I particularly like the pictures where he was wearing the bow tie that was bigger than he was!  The caption read “Already? Time really does fly!)   (Those were the picture I knew he’d hate.) 

The main body of the card had a picture of him and his beautiful wife and their two boys.  It kind of summed up 40 years on life in 3 short pages of pictures – and it was very fun to create.  Thankfully his wife had put the card (and microwave birthday cake and party pack that came with the card) away until today.  I called before he had had the chance to open anything yet, so I made him open it while I was on the phone because I wanted to hear the reaction.  It was exactly the reaction I expected.  You know, a big sister can only be SO kind on her little brother’s 40th birthday!  And actually, his wife absolutely LOVED the card. After all, they know EXACTLY what their son’s school pics are going to look like.  (Ok, well maybe without the curly mullett for the senior picture, but they’ll look alike all the same!)

Taking the time to create the perfect card made my day and I know it made his.  That extra effort and personal touch mean a lot.  Of course, there are times when you find the perfect card at the store that says exactly what you want to say, but isn’t it better when it comes totally from your heart?

What about you?  Have you ever found or created the PERFECT birthday card for someone?  How did you know it was THE card?  What kind of reaction did you get?  Please share your favorite card stories.  Thanks!

Have fun,

Lisa

A best friend – again

It’s unfortunate, but sometimes even the best of friends can grow apart.  Lives get busy, personal situations change, priorities change.  Not fun – and it hurts too.  My best friend and I had gone through this over the last couple years.  Not really sure how it happened, but it did.  Calls were made, messages were left and went unreturned.  I really didn’t want to call up and do the wimpy, “Are you mad at me?”  but I wasn’t sure what to do, I care about my friend, and I wanted to let her know how much I missed her and wanted to reconnect.

But wait, I’m now a dedicated card sender, so why not put this to the test.  I know how much we used to love sending each other cards, so that HAD to be a good way to recapture the magic.  I searched through my photo albums and  found some of my very favorite pictures of us together – expressions of pure joy on  our faces and the happiness that was in our hearts were all over those pictures.  I created a card with those amazing pictures and then wrote a heartfelt note about the good times we’ve shared, and some of the memories that only her and I would understand.  And then I waited. Would she acknowledge it? Would she call?

Thankfully, there’s GREAT news to share! I received a card in return, with her missing me as well.  We talked on the phone and made arrangements to have dinner last night. The funny thing is, when we got together on the phone first and then in prson, it wasn’t like we hadn’t talked for 1 1/2 years, it was more like we hadn’t talked in about 5 minutes.  Every bit of the connection that we’ve always shared was back – and it was a wonderful evening.

Sure, some things in our lives have changed. My friend has always been more of an introvert and has never really liked being around a lot of people.  She has been spending some quality time with her husband and their marriage is stronger than ever.  There were some personal issues, but those too are being and have been dealth with. 

On the other hand, I’ve also been spending a lot of time with my husband, but we are pursuing our own on-line business adventures.  Plus I’m still doing everything I can to network and meet people - both live at networking events and on-line.  This year has been a year of tremendous growth for me. I’m amazed at the quality of the people and the quality of the information that I’ve attracted into my life this year.  It’s been awesome!

It goes to show you, that even when lives do change, when two people have a connection to the depths of their souls, the deep love and bonds of friendship are always there.  Sometimes they just need to be reminded.

So what about you?  Has there been times when you’ve been prompted to send a card or a note and it’s made a difference in your friendships or family life?  Have you ignored a prompting and felt the consequences?  I’d love to hear your stories!

Do you listen to your promptings?

The story of Kody Bateman is one that’s worth telling.  Kody had graduated from college was in the process of moving from Utah to New York City for an internship at an advertising agency.  As he loaded up his belongings and his family into the car, he saw his brother Kris a couple hundred feet away.  He had a very strong promting to go up to his brother and give him a hug goodbye and tell him that he loved him.  Being that he and his brother were never the huggy type, and because he was in a hurry to get on the road, he ignored his prompting and simply waved to his brother as he drove away.

A few months later, Kody received a distraught call from his mother at 3:00 am telling him that his 29 year old brother had died in an industrial accident. 

Kody never forgot the fact that he ignored a very important prompting and he vowed to make it easier for anyone to immediately act on their promptings, so they would never have to live with the regret that Kody had experienced.  This simple story led to the formation of a company called Send Out Cards, a company which provides the service of printing, sending, stuffing and stamping personalized greeting cards and sending them to the family, friends, clients, customers, that they were designed for.

I think about that story a lot, because I always want to family and friends to know that I do care and I do value them.  A camera is never far from reach, and many of those pictures are now uploaded to cards and sent as a reminder of the good times we’ve shared together.  How cool is it to go to your mailbox and find a hand addressed envelope with a stamp on it – voila a card!  Very nice change of pace from the standard junk mail or bills (and there are a LOT of those!)

Ok, maybe the envelope is not “hand-written” as such, because it is printed and stuffed and stamped in Salt Lake City, Utah and then sent with the push of a button.  However, I actually have a font in my own hand-writing, so it’s as close to the real thing as I can get, without having to do all all the writing myself.  Plus, I don’t have to go to the card store OR post office to make it all happen.  Cool.

So what about you?  Have you ever ignored a prompting and lived to regret it?  Have you acted on a prompting and came to find out it made all the difference?  I’d love to hear your story!

A card to mom….or not?

Last week I sent a card to my sister-in-law.  I put an adorable picture of her two boys at a recent birthday party inside and card and thanked her for inviting us to the boy’s party and for putting us up while we were down there.  At the time I was designing her card, I also had one that I started for my mom.

Well, like a lot of people in their 40′s, I must have gotten distracted.  Oops.  Lynn received her card and I called my mom to check to see if she received her.  She didn’t.  I called her the next day.  She hadn’t received it then either.  Mom started getting really mad at her post office, and I was frustrated that the “card hadn’t arrived yet.”

You can guess the rest of the story.  I went back to my “Sent Card” file and checked for mom’s name.  It wasn’t there.  Uh-oh.  What to do now.  Do I just send another card and pretend that it took a REALLY long time to get there, or do I just ‘fess up?  Ok, I did the right thing.

I called mom and said, “I’m a BAD daughter.”  She knew what happened and said, “You didn’t send it, did you?”  “Um, no – I didn’t.  But the good news is, I’m sending you a card AND a gift to make up for it.”  ;o)  I think she forgave me then.  After all, I could have NOT told her the truth, and that would have been worse.

So, the rest of the story is, yes she finally received her newly designed and beautiful card – chock full of grandson pictures to boot. She loved the truffles too!  She loved both of them and said, “THIS was worth waiting for.”  You know mom, it was worth sending too!  Love you mom!

When was the last time you THOUGHT you sent a card and found out you didn’t?  Feel free to share this or any of your other favorite card stories.  I want to know how cards have touched your life and the lives of those you love. 

Thanks!

Have fun,

Lisa

Cards keep you “Top of Mind” with your customers

Today’s competitive environment is fierce, and becoming more so as more and more companies are doing WHATEVER they can to get new business and keep what they have.  So how do you set yourself apart, particularly when you may be dealing with competitors that aren’t nearly as ethical as you are?

Cards work.  Think about it, your customer gets a heartfelt card from you – with NO sales pitch, with NO underlying motive.  The purpose of the card is simply to say “Thanks, I appreciate YOU.”  If the card is not only a beautiful card with an inspirational saying on the front of it, AND it has the customer’s picture on the inside OR you’ve placed a picture of the customer’s business on the outside of the card and a few more pictures on the inside, where do you think that card is going to be?  Will it get thrown away?  No, I don’t think so.  It’s going to be displayed proudly on that person’s desk or bulletin board for all to see (including your competitors.)

Your customer will be looking at that card every single day, and will be thinking positive thoughts about you. Maybe they won’t be in surch a hurry to switch vendors to save a few cents, as they are already working with someone who is serving them expertly, and is appreciative of the business.

Appreciation marketing does work.  It’s hard to let go of a strictly sales mentality.  We always want to tell our customers WHY we’re the best and HOW great our products/services are.  Let’s remember to treat our customers like people and show genuine appreciation for them AND for their business.  You’ll be amazed at the business you will keep, and the referrals you will get.  And you know what else? It feels GREAT to make someone’s day!

I recently presented a class to a group of nurses.  Before the class, I just said, “Ok, group shot.”  They didn’t even question me, they just lined up, smiled, and I took their picture.  I put a beautiful inspirational cover on the card and their group shot on the inside.  Several of them thanked me for totally making their day, and one in particular happened to receive the card after a particularly grueling day, and she said it was the “nicest thing that happened today.”

That’s what makes it all worthwhile.

How do you make yourself stand out with your customers?  Please post a comment and let me know!

Have fun,

Lisa

Lisa@asklisaryan.com

Card Senders Unite!

Why do you send cards?  Do you just send the obligatory birthday card, when you remember (and end up sending a belated card anyway?)  or are you religious about sending your thank you cards after Christmas?  Sympathy cards, Get Well cards, thank you for your hospitality cards, and the list goes on and on.

How often do you send a card for no other reason than to make someone’s day?  Think about it.  Every day you go to your mailbox and grab that large stack of bills, ads and junk mail.  What’s the first thing you do?  Look for a stamp!  Look for ANYTHING that looks evenly remotely personal.  Does it happen often, or is it always a nice suprise?

I love sending cards and I have made a commitment that I will be sending cards out every day.  A digital camera is now my constant companion and I look for ideas to make someone’s day with a card.  You know, it feels GREAT to take the time and think positively about someone and create something that will make them smile.  The very act makes me smile.

I thought a fun thing to do would be to share some of the stories that happened as a result of sending cards.  I hope you will be inspired to send a card to someone you love – and let them know how you feel.  Life is far too short not to enjoy it to the fullest while we’re here – and as you give for the sake of giving, you gain.  It’s an amazing experience!

One card was sent to a friend that has a difficult boss.  The outside of the card has a picture of her and I together at a restaurant, smiling and with our arms around each other.  The inside has a group shot of our friends, smiling and having a great time.  The caption said, “Don’t worry about it – all the important people love you!”

Timing was perfect.  She received the card after a long day with the dreaded boss.  Imagine her change in mood - from being dejected, irritated and mentally exhausted to curious (what can this be?), to happiness (wow a card, and it’s not even my birthday!), to feeling fantastic from knowing that the important things in her life are still in tact – just the perspective needed to change.  Wow!  It’s great when a plan comes to fruition!

Stay tuned!

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