Whenever possible, always say yes to an invitation to do just about anything – a lunch, a meeting, anything with anyone.  It is always a great way to grow your network.  Speaker and author Craig Price took me up on a Facebook invitation posting and ended up on this podcast. www.speakercraigprice.com

Click here to listen: Speaker Craig Price

For those of us who spend days, weeks, months on the road – standing in security lines, squeezing into too tiny airline seats, eating bad road food, trying to remember what color car we rented, what tonight’s hotel room number is and wondering how long the meeting will go on – I have some suggestions to make it just a little bit better:

• Do a little research ahead of time and give yourself the right to explore or visit a landmark.  I’ve walked the deck of the USS Lexington, driven the world’s most crooked street (and alley), visited the largest mall in the US, and posed in front of the American Gothic House, just to name a few. Make it a part of your plan and see something. Allow yourself to have a bit of fun.
• Mingle with the participants, not just business networking.  Learn who they are, what they do, where they are from, what they like. Your next big client or best friend could be in that crowd.  You never know.  By the way, I highly suggest staying away from alcohol and having a soft drink or juice for this.
• Talk to the locals, like the waitress or the person at the front desk. Ask about the area, what they like about it, what it is like to live there.  I gained a whole new appreciation for the farmers in America’s Heartland, Iowa, just talking to the employees in the restaurant the night before a speech.
• Make a plan ahead of time to exercise each day even if it’s just for 15 minutes.  Walk outside, walk the stairs in the hotel or office building, find a fitness center, just get it moving.   I promise you’ll feel better for doing it later in the day. And you’ll have more energy.
• Eat and drink right.  Stay away from the rich foods and alcohol. Moderation is okay, but again, you’ll feel better and have more energy to do what it is you came to do making you look like the pro and expert you are.
• Read a book, rent a movie, watch a TV show – something not work related. Give your brain a chance to rest and reload.  I have recently become a ‘Gleek” – a huge fan of Glee.  My last trip, I downloaded all the episodes I had missed and watched them on the plane.  The flight went faster, I barely noticed the seat size and bad food, and I had a smile on my face when I got off the plane.
• Close your eyes. Breathe.  Unhunch your shoulders. Just for a moment.

Now go get’em Road Warrior!

Why does everyone insist on using the phrase “sex, drugs and rock and roll?”  To me, it has always been “sensibility, determination and rock and roll.”

I spent years around some of the most successful rock stars, producers, record company and star management personnel.  The ones who were wildly successful (many of whom continue to be so today), all practiced the same basic principles:

• They gave their customers what they wanted, they fed the fans’ passions
• They kept up with trends, the world around them and technology
• They created and nurtured successful and productive business relationships every where
• And, they always thanked/rewarded the people who got them there as well as giving back to the fans and communities

These are the fundamental four rock star principles of a successful person.  You’ll find examples of each of these principles in things that Mick Jagger does as well as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

Passion, knowledge, networking and appreciation along with hard work and a strong work ethic will take you to the top of the charts each and every time.

Okay. I’ll admit it, we did have some fun along the way, but didn’t you?

Never underestimate the power of the smile in customer service. Not that I encourage this but you can almost get away with a mediocre product, service, meal, anything – when it is served with a smile.

My birthday request was simple this year, especially after renting a castle in England last year. All I asked for was that Charlie the Wonder Husband and the boys do their version of dressed up and take me to a local upscale steakhouse. They rummaged through the bottom of their closets, found a clean pair of socks and a collared shirt and off we went.

“A smile is a powerful weapon; you can even break ice with it.”  –Author Unknown

Love my husband, teenager tried his best to be pleasant, 10 year old was ok once he found out they had chicken nuggets and the food was amazing, but our server never smiled. OK. She smiled once, after we had written in the tip and handed the bill back to her. Not good timing on her part.

Not sure if she was training, tired, didn’t feel well or just disliked her job, whatever the reason, she never smiled. The waiter next to us smiled and had quite the personality with his table. I felt deprived.

“People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile.”  –Lee Mildon

For almost 22 years I played either Freebird or Stairway to Heaven every day, read the same weather forecast, observed “Two for Tuesday,” served “Electric Lunch” and tried to make people happy on the request line, which I actually answered.

It didn’t matter how I felt, whether or not I was sick or if I had overachieved the night before, I had to be happy to be there and 99% of the time, I was! There were those days however where I just wanted to be left alone but I continued to deliver the best show I could with a smile on my face.

“Smile – It’s the second best thing you can do with your lips.” –Author Unknown

Smile today. Smile all day. Smile at everyone you meet. You’ll be amazed how much bigger the tip gets in whatever you do today.

There’s a story on CNN.com today about internships –  not for college students, but for workers 50 and over. Brilliant. Why should it be any different for anyone, age or otherwise?  It all comes down to networking, finding a way to get your foot in the door, then working hard and proving the company needs you, showing your value.

I’ve heard several ‘older’ workers lately lamenting the lack of jobs, worrying about their futures.  However, when I ask the questions below, the answers are usually the same – no.  Didn’t have time. Been meaning to do that. Planned to do that next week.

Need a job? Need to change jobs? Looking to advance where you are?

Ask yourself these questions:

Do you have a mentor?
Do you have a specific goal?
Have you called anyone to make contact today and offered them something instead of just asking for something?
Have you followed up with at least one person you met this week – with a call, a note, info you promised?
Have you gone to an event this week and met new people, networked new relationships?
Have you asked for what you need?

That’s what these ‘older’ workers are doing in the CNN story. Making the call, asking for the internship, learning something new with a mentor, networking and finding a way to keep working. Hustle folks, hustle.

And, answer the questions with ‘yes.’

How do I get a record deal, how do I get into the music business, how do I get a radio station to play my songs? I am always surprised how often I am still asked those questions, even though I have been out of music radio and the music business since my 14 year old son was born. Yet, I still get the question almost weekly from friends, neighbors, on my Facebook page, etc.

Here’s the answer I gave an aspiring rapper (how do these people find me) yesterday:

• Take advantage of social media – Facebook and Twitter – and make it easy for fans sign on to follow you
• Post the song occasionally and other songs
• Create a website
• Do a hot or funny video for YouTube
• Create a t-shirt and sell it on Cafe Press
• Use every method you can to get your music and name out there
• If the stuff is good, it will start to spread and the record companies will take notice
• Always better if the record companies and radio stations come to you!
• Work it every day
• Network, 24/7, what can you do for them?

Tony Shelton, crisis communication expert and good friend, sums it up best with his three questions he always asks clients:

• What do you want?
• Who can give it to you?
• And most important of all, why should they?

Whether you want to be a rap star or a business star, it all works the same.

Thanks to all the Steeleworkers who took the time to vote in this year’s Texas Radio Hall of Fame process.  Thanks to you, I am now officially a “Hall of Famer.”  I will be inducted this fall with such incredible personalities and am humbled by it all.

The late great Marty Ambrose, Houston’s first traffic reporter.  The bigger-than-life Bill Moffett who voiced the top-the-of-the hour IDs for KLOL, concerts and more. And, last but never least, the legendary Crash Collins.

As a student at Dulles High School in Stafford, Texas, you were no one if you didn’t listen to Crash on KLOL.  And if you missed the nights he passed out and let the record skip for hours, you never let on you missed it.  Long before I even thought about going into radio, I had a huge crush on Crash. He was the coolest guy ever.

Crash has gone on to become a very successful business man, loving husband and great Dad.  And one of my dearest friends in the world.  Congrats to all.  This is going to be one helluva party come this fall.

When is the last time you tried something new?  Something out of your comfort zone?  Something that might not work but you tried it anyway?

I put a friend on the spot the other night at my husband’s retirement party – sort of blindsided her when I asked her to come up and join the roast to say a few words.  Strange as it may seem to some, this friend is my husband’s first wife.  We are good friends and I felt it was important that she be a part of such a big celebration.  And, of course, I knew she would have GREAT roast material.

And she did.  And she was great.

I got a text from her the day after the event – “You always push me out of my comfort zone…just one of the reasons that I love you.”

Trying new things, leaving your comfort zone, is like learning to drive a car.  It’s scary but you know you have to do it to reach the end result – transportation.  The first several times you do it, it’s terrifying.   You may hit a few curbs.  You may scare the heck out of yourself (and others.)  However, for the most part, you learn from your mistakes and get better each day.  Eventually, you don’t even think about it when you get in the car to drive off to work.  And if you do have an accident, you learn from that mistake and, more often than not, don’t do it again.

What will you do today?  Will you leave your comfort zone today?

Kill’em with kindness.  You get more flies with honey.  Engage the customer.

All strange things to be thinking while sitting stage side in the Hustler Club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans but that’s how I think. The first five dancers to hit the main stage starred at a spot on the wall, never smiled and went through the motions to do their routine. Then a dancer smiled and made a little effort to actually look at the audience. A few more dollar bills started to magically drop on the stage. Then SHE came out. SHE hit the stage with a huge smile looking directly at her audience. SHE went straight to the people and engaged them. Smiling, talking “Hey, where y’all from?” The dollar bills were flying fast and furious and SHE hadn’t even hit the pole yet. SHE had the audience in the palm of her hand until her money bag was full. SHE gave the customers what they had been looking for all night. A smile, welcoming conversation and eye contact. That’s all it took.

Which now poses the question – why was I in the Hustler Club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans? Isn’t the saying “what happens in New Orleans stays in New Orleans”? Well, it should be.

Gene Simmons of KISS was asked a few years ago what was the one thing he attributed his success to?  He said, without hesitation,  ”I read everything I can get my hands on.”

I loved that answer.  I am who I am and I do what I do because I read and I’ve never stopped learning.

Early on, I devoured the entire Nancy Drew series.  From that, I believe I learned to research and solve.

A friend of my grandmother’s, Mrs. DePhillipi, traveled the world and brought me several books.  From those books, I traveled the world without ever leaving 6738 Hendon in Houston, Texas.

In high school, because I actually read the curriculum requirements, I figured out I could graduate early and head off to college at 16.  In my teens, I had a college ID, an apartment and a boyfriend in a band.  Because I read, life was good.

In college, I discovered my passion for radio.  And, I’ve always said that I really didn’t play Stairway to Heaven or Freebird any different than anyone else and I gave the same weather forecast.  What I did do that was different was read and continue to learn.  And because I read, I always had something to talk about.  I also recognized opportunities to grow my name which was my “brand”.  I was successful in Houston radio for over 20 years. Because I read, I was paid (handsomely) to play music and hang out. I read the industry trade papers and learned how to network with the right people to succeed.

In the 90’s, I began to read and learn about this new thing they called email and the Internet eventually starting my own e-commerce operation.  I sold The Space Store for a half a million dollars in 2000, the same month Newsweek declared the dot.com boom dead.  I apparently ‘didn’t get the memo.’

To this day, I read and continue to learn.  I wrote a book to pass on what I had already read and learned.  That created a successful motivational speaking career.

I began to read and learn about Social Media a couple of years ago.   I now get paid to hang out on Facebook and Twitter and teach others how to use social media.  This is a good job.

Ahh but, the times, to quote an old rock star, they are a changin’.

I still read and learn.  But differently.

I said I could never give up my newspaper and cup of coffee in the mornings.  The cup of coffee remains but the newspapers were replaced long ago by apps on my phone for CNN, the Houston Chronicle, AP Newswire, local TV and more.

Then I said I could never trade the feel of a real book in for a Kindle.  We now have two Kindles in the house and I may have to buy a third if no one learns to share.

The future?  Apparently I’m getting an iPad for Mother’s Day to put on the coffee table with all our favorite magazines, newspapers, photos and books loaded onto it.

All along the way, from Nancy Drew to the latest Apple gadget, I have continued to read and learn.

Reading has rocked my world.  Daily.

How about your world?

Read and rock on!