November-December 2006 -- WELCOME

THE LISTENING CONNECTION
--your world-wide connection to "effective-active listening"

EAR-OPENING CONTENTS

1)November-December Ear-Opening Commentary.
"The Univeral People Partnering Connection Perspective"

2) Your INTERACTIVE DIMENSION - Your Opportunity: To Respond to these November-December Questions of the Month

3) World-wide INTERACTIVE RESPONSES to the September-October 2006 Edition Questions

4) November-December Thought Provoker.
Discover New Audio Book Promotions -- The Breathing Blanket

5) Ear-Opening Holiday Package Combo Close-out Special!!
Gifts of Hope and Inspiration

1) The Universal People Partnering Connection Perspective

by Greg Bauer

How much as human beings do we really care about our other fellow human beings individually?

How much do you really care about each and every individual that you encounter daily?

When listening to your heart, mind, and soul concerning the above two questions, what conclusions have you already drawn?

How self-absorbed have you become in your own world and it's outcomes?

The very term "customer service" has become a worn out phrase that no longer achieves its expectations or even its definition.

Yes, a customer is the most important person in any business and is stated as such by many a business and/or orgnaization.

Yes, a customer is not dependent on us. We as a company or organization are dependent on the customer.

Yes, a customer desires the most courteous attention we can provide that customer.

Yes, this customer is the lifeblood of our business and every other business.

The term "customer service" is in no way connected with what the customer really wants or desires and it's outcomes. The notion of "customer service" is derived from the manufacturer, producer, or service provider in hopes that they have a product or service that will somehow meet somebody's needs (in part) out there in the world. The service or product is generated from a self-promoted initiative or perspective, (an ego-money driven perspective), not from a genuiine heart-to-heart/one human being to another perspective.

- This outdated way of looking at and practicing "customer service" is in a large part why 80% of the new businesses started every year fail.

- This is also the case in a big way why very large and successful companies find themselves, their services, and/or their products to be no longer (or less) desired by the nation (world) at large.

- This is also the case, in a big way, why these same large companies are abandoning the very employees that helped build their companies with misguided and unbalanced (customer service) visionary initiatives.

- This is also the case, in a big way, why "customer service" and customer satisfaction is at its lowest ever here in the U.S.

Thus emerges a dynamic world perspective: "THE UNIVERAL PEOPLE PARTNERING CONNECTION PERSPECTIVE".

This perspective is not new.

This perspective has been practiced for decades internationally.

This perspective draws long-term customer loyalty driven by constantly improving quality meeting individual customer-perceived expectations and desires collectively.

This perspective draws employee loyalty and longevity with a commitment to meet these indivdiual customer-perceived expectations and desires.

This "UNIVERSAL PEOPLE PARTNERING CONNECTION PERSPECTIVE" involves a 24/7 "effective-active-listening" lifestyle by 100% of the individuals involved in a bond sealed by a lifelong commitment to dedicating their hearts, minds, and souls to 100% CUSTOMER SATISAFACTION.

- EACH INDIVDIUAL PARTNER (CONSUMER)

- EACH INDIVDIUAL PARTNER (EMPLOYEE)

- EACH INDIVDIUAL PARTNER (EACH PORTION OF THE COMPANY)

- EACH INDIVDIUAL PARTNER (THE WORLD MARKET)

The mind frame becomes a 24/7 culture in individuals, households, community activities, and in all aspects of their working life.

Separate conversations I recently had with two individiuals within a week's time prompted me to share and write today's commentary.

One of these individuals is my very successful grown son who has had much success in the business world. The other individual is an American-born nun, who has lived her life as a nun for the past 30 years in Italy, while she was visiting her parents and friends back here in the States.

In private conversations I had with both within the same week, I asked both of them:

"What is the most VALUABLE aspect of what you do in your life's work/profession?"

Both responded without any hesitation:

"I am in the PEOPLE BUSINESS! PEOPLE ARE MY LIFE!"

WOW! I found the same exact responses from these two different individuals from such different and diverse worlds to be quite profound.

Ear-Opener #8 -- Learn to set your sights on coming in contact with each individual's heart, mind, and soul that you encounter daily. Practice, daily, to take a much more sincere interest in each person.

Yes, this is going to require that the pace of your lifestyle slow down a bit.

Yes, this is also going to require long periods of time where you are going to have to set your ego-driven efforts aside.

Yes, this is going to require that you are going to be broadening your world perspectives through others' eyes and their vision.

The path to this "UNIVERSAL PEOPLE PARTNERING CONNECTION PERSPECTIVE" starts with you. -- Yes, you!

Think about this factor of life. You come in contact with 10-20-30 or more individuals per week. How you engage in your verbal and listening exchanges impacts these individuals' lives and their future exchanges with others. They will inevitably impact 100's of individuals in the way they will impact how they will impact their methods in the way they will perform in future encounters.

Yes, it all begins with you!

The path to 24/7 "UNIVERSAL PEOPLE PARTNERING CONNECTION PERSPECTIVE" begins with you.

2) YOUR INTERACTIVE DIMENSION -- YOUR OPPORTUNITY: RESPOND TO THESE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH.

BRIEFLY EXPLAIN:

(1) How much do you really care about and truly have to actively listen to every individual that you encounter daily?

(2) How self-absorbed have you become in your own world and all of it's outcomes?

*YOUR OPPORTUNITY -- CONNECT WITH:*

THE LISTENING CONNECTION

YES -- This is your opportunity to share any of your answers (responses) to the questions from above with our international audience of subscribers of The Listening Connection. 1) We will include your answer(s)/response(s) in our next (January-February) issue. 2) Our readers (subscribers) would also appreciate your providing us with your first name only, state you reside in (if in the U.S.), and your country. We are really looking forward to sharing with you new horizons in The Listening Connection being your worldwide connection to "effective-active listening". E-mail your perspectives/responses to: gregbauer@listenone.com.

3) WORLDWIDE INTERACTIVE RESPONSES TO
THE SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2006 EDITION QUESTIONS:

(1) What is your typical resonse/reaction to a person who complains and complains and complains?

(2) What steps have you taken recently to control your own complaining and also to control your exposure to external complaining elements?

ABBEY -- ILLINOIS -- USA

About eight months ago I severed ties with a group of long-time friends that I've had since 2nd grade in elementary school. We grew up together, shared in many adventures during our growing years, shared in the birth of our children together, and had coffee once or twice a week together. However, in the past two years our coffees have turned into totally negative moaning, whining, and complaining sessions. This type of negative attitude and negative thinking began to enter all of the aspects of my life. Something had to change.

I quit attending these coffees -- cold turkey.

I signed up for, attended, and became involved in two different energizing self-help courses at the local university.

I also began enthusiasticlaly going to a coffee held every other week with several of my fellow students that I met and got to know at these self-help courses. Our discussions, for the most part, pertain to positive subjects and futuristic positive thinking.

My husband has commented several times now on how I've become much more energetic, results-oriented, and cheery about reaching out to others.

Even I like the new me much better.

TERRENCE -- VIRGINIA -- USA

For the past ten years I've made every effort to avoid encountering, being around, and building friendships with whining, complaining, negative people.

For you see, something had to change in my life after growing up in a house with a constantly whining/complaining mother and father who would verbally beat up each other, and a brother and sister who were going nowhere in life and always complaining about their failures to others.

At age 18, when I went off to college out of state, I made a vow to myself that I would forever close the door on my negative and complaining past.

Today I make every effort to surround myself with positive-minded friends and business acquaintances. My wife and I daily help each other to reinforce each other's postiive mindframe.

I'm enjoying the journey in making things happen.

MARIA -- OHIO -- USA

Complaining had become a way of life at my workplace.

It seemed like everytime I turned around somebody was unhappy and/or complaining either during work hours, on breaks, and especially during lunch.

I got so tired of listening to this negative vibrating tone that I've found a quiet unoccupied office during my breaks and lunch hours to read positive-motivating books or write positive letters of interest to my friends out of state.

I decided to move forward with my life and leave my co-workers to their own self-destruction.

MIKE -- WISCONSIN -- USA

You would think that in this world of e-mails and instant-messaging that the people driving the momentum of this futuristic highway of communicating would be positive, forward-thinking, and constructive in their expressing and conveying of knowledge and productivity.

Not the case. Proper grammer, completing entire thoughts, proper corporate reopresentation, proper and correct corporate expressions of ethics and values, and proper conveyance of one's attitude, emotions, and feelings have been thrown out the windows and increasingly continue to go unchecked.

I truly believe that the next step for corporations in their using this superhighway of communicating needs to be in formulating a separate department to double check all e-mails for any and all inconsistencies before releasing these electronically- generated communications to the world at large. Keep in mind that the future of each corporation lies in the computer, cell phone, palm pilot held by each of it's employees representing their destiny.

Scarey isnt' it? Especially with all of the whining and complaining that goes on daily on this superhighway by corporate people.

SUE -- OREGON -- USA

It's really very simple. I've become much more relaxed, focused, and accomplishing much more in the past year by simply not watching any news on TV (I hardly watch any TV anymore) or listen to any news on the radio.

I've eliminated a large majority of my exposure to complaining and whining by tuning out the news (media) in my life.

I've also found myself spending that once wasted time in positively encouraging the lives of the ones I love and even with those I've yet to meet in life.

JON -- AUSTRALIA

Whining and complaining never gets anything accomplished.

Whining and complaining merely increases one's aging process and decreases one's life expectancy.

DEBORAH -- PENNSYLVANIA -- USA

One's heart never heals by whining and complaining.

God has a plan for each of us, only if we listen long and focused enough to find out what that plan really is and how to pursue that plan.

4) NOVEMBER-DECEMBER THOUGHT PROVOKER:
EXPLORE/EXPAND YOUR POTENTIAL WITH THESE NEW AUDIOBOOK OPTIONS!

Early 2007 Availability in
CD -- MP3 -- IPod FORMAT

Narrated by the Author -- Greg Bauer

* Stay posted to our website (www.listenone.com) for pre-launch advance ordering opportunities and details including:
How you can be one of the FIRST "50" to pre-order your CD of The Breathing Blanket and receive a yet-to-be announced complimentary-bonus help source.

* Also, stay posted to our website (www.listenone.com) for further developmental updates, action press releases, and future motivating promotions about our audiobook formats.

Today's Thought Provoker
as revealed in an article
from: The Director's Heart (From: Bi-monthly newsletter PastorCare (Website) -- The Great Lakes Region)
By: John W. Smith, M.Div., D.Min. -- Regional Director

I had breakfast recently with Greg Bauer, one of the most positive, joyful, and engaging people I've ever met. His book, The Breathing Blanket: How Attitude and Listening Prevail, is his story and is available through his website: www.listenone.com.

As the survivor of a near fatal drunk-driver crash at the age of two, Greg has overcome life-long physical challenges and learned that everyone has the potential to create accomplishments from crisis.

Greg's physical pain was intolerable, but he chose to pursue his dreams, hopes, and aspriations. In spite of monumental roadblocks, his abundant positive attitude helped him rise above his circumstances and do what others thought to be impossible. Unlike many of us, Greg refused to avert his eyes from pain but chose, instead, to look it directly in the face and confront it.

I invest my life with pastors and their families who have been deeply hurt. God has given me the compassion to come alongside them in the midst of suffering and to gently encourage them to develop an "I can do it" attitude like Greg.

Through the years, Greg has forgiven the drunk driver who robbed him of his physical health. Pastors and wounded church members need to walk similar paths of forgiveness and move forward to find the peace, joy, and purpose that God desires for each of us.

Continuing to learn the art of forgivenesss from the Master,
John W. Smith

5) Ear-Opening Package Special

The Breathing Blanket (book)
GREG BAUER – AUTHOR – VICTIM AND SURVIVOR OF A NEAR-DEATH DRUNK-DRIVING CRASH EXPERIENCE REVEALS IN HIS RECENTLY RELEASED INSPIRATIONAL BOOK – THE BREATHING BLANKET – HOW YOU CAN DISCOVER AN “I CAN DO IT” ATTITUDE BY INTERNALLY “UTILIZING THE POWER OF EFFECTIVE-ACTIVE- LISTENING”.

Celebrate Selling the Consultative Relationship Way (book)
Greg Bauer -- "The Guru of Listening" -- Co-Author
Opportunities in your personal life and corporate life are created by actively promoting and practicing relationship building and active listening efforts. This book reveals ways to establish and build relationships in customer service, management, sales, networking and self-promotion in the 21st century.

The Breathing Blanket (book)
(Limited remaining 1st edition copies)

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Celebrate Selling the Consultative Relationship Way (book)

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ATTENTION: SUBSCRIBERS

(1) Our focus of this Newsletter will continue and remain on techniques, skills, and attitudes toward how we better "Utilize the Power of Effective-Active-Listening"™ in future issues.

(2) Your ideas and suggestions as to subjects you would like to hear about in the upcoming issues of this Newsletter - The Listening Connection - pertaining to listening would really be appreciated and we would like to hear from you at gregbauer@listenone.com.

In The Spirit of Sharing With Others . . .
. . . Opportunities Become Accomplishments™

©Greg Bauer (President, Greg Bauer & Associates, Inc. / DBA Listen1) Editor/Publisher 2006

· Looking forward to our sharing the next edition of The Listening Connection