Most specifically, Passion, Persistence, Pride, and Quality? Does your business represent all of these to the consumer? As a publicist, I have found that all of my successful clients have these four qualities in spades. They don't just have these qualities, they improve on them daily to bring a dynamic sizzle to their business. The fact is that people like to do business with people who vibrate with electric acumen. It isn't loud. It isn't hypy. It doesn't blare in your face. It's a quiet confidence. It is something you *feel* from the individual, not something the individual tells you. This is success.

Ever hear the story about the keys? A person thinks he is successful when he has a pocket full of keys? Then as he really grows into success, he realizes that it isn't a pocket full of keys, it's one key that opens everything. You're the key, one key with all the qualities to make your business work for you and it all starts with minding your P's and Q's.

Passion: Simply put if your not doing something that snaps you out of bed in the morning with a smile on your face and adventure in your heart, then you are in the wrong business and it's time to make a change. Passion resonates in everything you do. Will you have it everyday? Nope. Can it be nurtured? Yep. If you are otherwise quite passionate about your business but find yourself in a bit of a slump, take a look at your life. A life out of balance will spin passion right smack to the bottom of the perverbial empty bucket. The fact is passion doesn't survive on lack of sleep, lack of exercise, or lack eating. It doesn't even do particularly well if your logged on 18 out 24 hours in every day. Don't confuse passion with obsessive. Obsessive will kill passion. Passion lives hand in hand with balance. So if your attitude isn't passionate, look at the rest of your life for answers. You nurture passion by taking care of yourself.

Persistence: This is the hardest one. The one that separates the winners from the quitters. Yes, sometimes there is a time to walk away and it's the smart thing to do. So how do you know when that time is? It goes like this. Quiting isn't a feeling. It's a decision made in the logical part of your brain. This part is important so listen close. You have three parts to your brain. The left logical side. The right creative side. And the lymbic emotional side. When you fall into the lymbic emotional side you are not working in any constructive part of your brain. It is simply emotional and can not make sound decisions. Have you ever had a client that was so angry you couldn't reason with him? That person is in the lymbic portion of their brain. Until they get back into the working part of their brain again, nothing can be resolved. The same holds true for you. We all have "those" days when nothing goes right and we wonder what they heck we are even doing in business. This is perfectly normal. However, successful people understand that when they feel this way, it is not the time to make any important decisions. That is persistence. Persistence is allowing the emotions to pass before making important decisions. Successful people learn to understand when their emotions are navigating and when their logical brain is back in gear. Dr. Carlsen of "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff" says "Be graceful in the downtimes and grateful in the up times." I say, be persistent in your downtimes and make decisions in your up times!

Pride: Yes, pride. Not the kind "that cometh before a fall" as the scriptures tell us, but the kind that puts you into your work. Remember the days when it didn't matter what your job was as long as you did it well? This was pride in workmanship. This was the time when your work was a direct reflection of you. Pride in our work is what makes our work worth having. So..have a little pride and put it back into your work!

Quality: Do I really need to say more? Quality is everything. It goes hand in hand with pride of workmanship. Strive for the best in quality and you will be remembered for it. Rick Beneteau is one of our publicity clients and when I think of him that is the first word that comes to mind. Rick spends hours painstakingly going over all his work to make sure it's perfect for his audience. I'm the first to admit I've learned a great deal watching him work. He doesn't just strive for a great finished product, he strives for a perfect finished product and it shows in every thing he does.

I have had the rare opportunity to work with clients that are the leaders in their industry. Every one has the P's and Q ingrained in their everyday work life and it has spilled out in tremendous results. Results that teach us all that the P's and Q's are well worth minding and implementing.