Catholic – Disney Brand Loyalty Keynote Speaker

St Thomas Aquinas Said….

“We must love them both – those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject. For both have labored in search for truth, and both have helped us in the finding of it”.

Great quote. Great thought. Great perspective.

To a point, then I must agree to disagree.

Following the status quo, or “That’s the way we’ve always done it”, doesn’t seem to require as much laboring as does challenging the status quo.

Challenging the status quo is a lonely place. A very lonely place.

Take exercise. And to my dismay, we don’t see pictures of or hear stories of Walt Disney making exercise a priority. Sure, he played polo as far as we know.

However, Disney has taught me to eat, drink, sleep and breath excellence. Take Alfred Prokschin. At age 100, he won a Gold medal two weeks ago at the WMA Masters Tarck & Field World Championships in Lahti, Finland:

If not you, who? If not today, when? Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

It happens every time, doesn’t it?

In my hotel room, with few distractions, it’s easier to focus on what I’m going to say this morning. And you know what? It’s gonna happen.

It happens every time.

Seriously!

Predictably, there will be two camps. There always are.

Two camps:

“That’s too simple“.

“I already know that“.

Let me remind you, please, after 35 years in business and 10 years as a professional speaker, I’ve become an expert. I’ve spent 25 years here in Central Florida, almost daily being influenced by the presence of neighboring Walt Disney World – I can see the nightly fireworks and hear the steam trains from our home.

Here are two simple truths in quote form:

“It’s not hard to do things as much as it is to simply decide to do something. It’s the deciding that’s hard“. — jeff noel

“The concept is easy. Any idiot can have a good idea. What is hard is doing it.” — Christo

Like I always say about Walt Disney, “It’s not the Magic that makes it work, it’s the work that makes it Magic“.

So, what’s my main job when I speak? To get everyone to make “Common Sense, Common Practice”!

Make it a GREAT day, because if you don’t, who will? People are depending on you to be great today. Be GREAT! It’s common sense, eh? Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

What’s the 1st thing you do?

What’s the first thing you do when you hear your alarm clock go off?

As I write this, it’s almost 5am. I’ve been up for an hour, reading, writing, thinking.

Actually, I didn’t think the alarm clock was ever going to go off. Just lying in bed, wondering, “When is that thing ever going to go off. Come on. Let’s go. Bring it (the day) on!”

Those who know me know I’m completely serious. Those who don’t – “crazy man”!

Part of the challenge is the thing we’re waiting on is called an “ALARM” clock. Yikes.

What if we called it an “OPPORTUNITY” clock. Wow!

Everyday is an opportunity to do something great. Everyday is a gift. To be able to get out of bed. To be alive. To have the privilege to serve and help others.

Have you noticed the tone, the language, of today’s post?

There a few key words and phrases that set the tone. Agree?

The same is true in business. That’s one of the most powerful secrets in business. Use words to nuture and grow a great culture.

I’ll explain more in another jungle jeff post. Right now, it’s off to the Orange County Convention Center for a GREAT day.

Make your day GREAT! Because if you don’t, who will?

Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

What does EPCOT stand for?

Every Person Comes Out Tired!

What?

Just kidding. You can take the boy out of the Jungle Cruise, but you can’t take the Jungle Cruise out of the boy.

EPCOT stands for Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow.

That’s what Walt Disney called Walt Disney World, before it was officially named Walt Disney World. The entire 43-square mile piece of alligator, snake and mosquito infested swampland he called EPCOT.

He said it would never be completed. He added, “The sketches and plans you see here are simply a starting point. Our first overall thinking.” As he continued, “Our plans may change time and time again.” He gave us permission to take his crazy, “impossible” vision and find the best way to get to our destination – “that EPCOT will always be a showcase for American ingenuity.”

And so it is with me. And with you too. Who wouldn’t want to always be in a state of becoming. Always changing and growing -serving more people in more ways. Then those people go out and do the same. We know this as “the ripple effect”.

Who’s helping you? Who’s holding you accountable?

At last week’s National Speakers Association Winter Conference, prior to the opening Keynote speech from Roxanne Emmerich ( https://www.emmerichgroup.com/ ), author of “Thank God It’s Monday: Kicking Butt and Taking Names to Grow Your Business”, we were asked to find one or two accountability partners. It was great to establish this upfront.

Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂

What’s the downside to creativity?

Being creative does not mean being productive.

Huh?

Creativity can be defined as generating useful ideas, in any domain. Most people assume that a bunch of creative ideas is something great. It really isn’t. Seriously, it’s not Because, if none of your creative ideas ever get implemented, then what do you have? N-u-t-h-i-n’. Nuthin! Period!

Want to know the key?

Curious about world-class spin on this “creativity issue”?

Here’s the deal:

Innovation is the implementation of a creative idea!

That’s the secret at world-class organizations, like Disney. They focus on creativity and implementation, in order to create innovations that make things better for their Employees, Customers, or Business practices.

Personally, I think of Walt Disney as the “Father of Creativity”.

What Walt really deserves credit for was his ability to innovate – to implement new, creative ideas. He was the ultimate “envelope pusher”.

“So what?” A simple question. One I began using a decade ago for the sole purpose of challenging people to adapt, not adopt “book theory” best practices.

On a scale of 1-10 (10 is excellent), how would others (not you) rate you on your drive, your vision, your energy, to push creative ideas through to implementation?

I hope you like your number. I didn’t like mine when I did this exercise. So I did something about it. I started to practice what I preach.

That has made all the difference.

Make it a GREAT day, because if you don’t, who will?

Carpe diem, jungle jeff 🙂