No joke, Batmobile will be up for grabs

The original Batmobile did not seem to want to come out of its temporary Bat Cave.

The crime-fighting car stalled a half-dozen times until Craig Jackson of Barrett-Jackson squeezed into the cockpit, revved up the Lincoln V-8 engine and backed it off a truck that delivered it from Hollywood to Scottsdale on Wednesday morning.

Read more: No joke, Batmobile will be up for grabs

Zig Ziglar left legacy of wisdom, optimism

When I was cutting my teeth in the sales game right after college, I made sure to read or listen to everything I could get my hands on from several sales and motivational legends -- Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale, Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar.

I, like many people around the world, was saddened to hear about the recent death of my friend Zig. He was one of a kind. I was fortunate to share the stage with him several times, and I will be forever grateful for those opportunities.

His inimitable style was contagious. If you were lucky enough to ever hear him speak, you understand how he stayed at the top of his game for more than 40 years. As he was fond of saying, "People often say motivation doesn't last. Neither does bathing -- that's why we recommend it daily."

Read more: Zig Ziglar left legacy of wisdom, optimism

Dealing with Micro-Negotiators | Expert Negotiator

“I can’t believe they want to negotiate every single point,” my client said. “It makes no sense. These are standard terms, and many of their changes represent no functional difference.”

What can you do when facing someone who wants to negotiate everything – even seemingly incontrovertible issues?

Start by exploring the rationale underlying your counterpart’s “fight everything” strategy. Then design a counterstrategy to address it.

Here are some reasons why a “fight everything” approach may seem sensible, plus some ways to counter them.

One, some negotiators believe that fighting over everything will wear down their counterparts and will thus result in more favorable concessions to their side.

Sometimes, of course, this is true. Many don’t like to fight, especially over minor issues, and will be more likely to concede than to aggressively engage.

But here’s the problem – the more you give in, the more these “fighters” become emboldened and double down. After all, their strategy is working. Plus, even though the issues may appear inconsequential, they may collectively add up to a significant difference.

Many years ago I litigated a case against a law firm with a reputation for aggressively litigating over everything. They made the litigation so unpleasant for opposing counsel, and for opposing clients, that no one wanted to deal with them.

With such a reputation, they theorized, opposing counsel and clients would either be more likely to settle early and favorably for their clients (to avoid the pain of dealing with them), or at least concede more than they might otherwise.

Two, parties being paid based on their time have a financial self-interest in dragging out the negotiation. You can rack up a lot of time if you dispute everything in a deal.

Three, agents on behalf of principals might fight over everything in an effort to show their clients how they aggressively represent them.

Finally, some parties evaluate how well they do by how far and how often they get their counterparts to concede. Have you ever heard someone say “we got a great deal as we got the other side to move more than us”? Those who fight over everything will rack up seemingly more concessions than others, even if the volume of concessions may make little substantive difference to the parties.

So what can you do?

First, don’t just cave again and again. While this appeasement may provide some short-term peace, it will be long-term counterproductive. On the other hand, it’s also not preferable to get caught in a downward spiral with everyone fighting everything. That could be disastrous for everyone.

Second, reach out to folks who have previously negotiated with your counterpart and find out what has worked in the past for them. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Here are some responses you might hear:

A shot across the bow might be required so they know you will fight, if necessary. But also note you don’t think such fighting would be good for anyone. If it’s an agent utilizing this strategy (like a lawyer), directly engage their bosses or clients on this. Then illustrate how a different strategy would be more efficient and effective for everyone. Explicitly recognize their strategy, thus effectively undermining it, by saying “You know, just last week my counterpart in another deal tried the same thing, negotiating over everything. But as soon as he learned we were more than willing to fight, he backed right off. Hopefully we won’t have to go through that exercise again here – it wasn’t good for anyone.” Of course, if you have a good alternative to doing a deal with them (a good Plan B), you might just refuse to negotiate with your counterpart until they come ready to deal in good faith.

Dealing with Micro-Negotiators | Expert Negotiator

Visualize goals to succeed

The old saying goes: "If you can dream it, you can do it."

I think that's more than just an axiom. I believe that visualization is one of the most powerful means of achieving personal goals. To have an idea or dream, and then to see how you can make it happen, helps shape your plans and defines your goals more clearly.

Many people, especially athletes and celebrities, have discovered the amazing power of visualization and have used it to enhance their careers and achieve their goals and dreams.

Actor Jim Carrey wrote a check to himself in 1987 in the sum of $10 million. He dated it Thanksgiving 1995 and added the notation, "For acting services rendered." He visualized it for years, and in 1994, he received $10 million for his role in "Dumb and Dumber."

Oprah Winfrey has openly used visualization techniques on her talk show. She often talked about the power of the subconscious mind and goal-focusing techniques. Winfrey said, "The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams."

Nobel laureate Jonas Salk was asked how he went about inventing the polio vaccine. His reply: "I pictured myself as a virus or a cancer cell and tried to sense what it would be like."

When I was 13, I dreamed about owning a factory. Then, when I actually owned the factory, I visualized selling the largest and most prestigious account in town -- General Mills. And I finally did it.

One of the most well-known studies on creative visualization in sports occurred when Russian scientists compared four groups of Olympic athletes in terms of their physical and mental training ratios:

Group 1 received 100 percent physical training.

Group 2 received 75 percent physical training and 25 percent mental training.

Group 3 received 50 percent mental training and 50 percent physical training.

- Group 4 received 75 percent mental training with 25 percent physical training.

Group 4 had the best performance results, indicating that mental training or visualization can have significant measurable effects on biological performance.

Similarly, for many years Russian gymnasts dominated the Olympics. The Americans trained hard, but they couldn't compete with the nearly flawless Russians. It wasn't until many years later that the Americans and others discovered the Russians used sports psychologists to help with mental-training techniques.

They spent a few hours each day visualizing their routines with perfect landings, twists and jumps. Today, most top athletes use the power of visualization.

People who soar refuse to sit back and wait for things to change. They visualize that they are not quitters. They will not allow circumstances to keep them down.

History teems with tales of experts who were convinced that the ideas, plans and projects of others could never be achieved. But then someone else came along and accomplished those dreams with a can-do attitude.

The Italian sculptor Agostino d'Antonio worked diligently on a large piece of marble. Unable to produce his desired masterpiece, he lamented, "I can do nothing with it." Other sculptors also worked this piece of marble, but to no avail.

Michelangelo discovered the stone and visualized the possibilities in it. His I-can-make-it-happen attitude resulted in one of the world's masterpieces -- his statue of David.

Are you reading these stories with the aid of an electric light? Consider the plight of Benjamin Franklin. He was admonished to stop his foolish experiments with lighting. What a waste of time! It was absurd to think anything could outdo the fabulous oil lamp. Thank goodness Franklin "saw the light" -- and made it happen.

Mackay's Moral: If seeing is believing, visualizing is achieving.

Visualize goals to succeed