Where’s Nigel Been?

Have you ever been asked where you have been? Who have you met? What did you learn? Why did you go?

No… time to get a life.

Yes… Good you have a life.

Over the last two weeks I’ve been out of the office quite a bit and my staff were beginning to wonder if I still worked for Florida Leisure Vacation Homes. Well today we had a staff meeting and some of them nearly collapsed in shock when I walked in the door.

I briefly informed them that yes, I was indeed real and that I had been learning and discovering new things that would help us all to make our business better. I then told them that although this would mean more work it would ultimately improve everything we did so that everyone involved (guests, customers, staff,etc) would benefit.

So, where to start…

Well, lets start two weeks ago when I left to attend a marketing conference in Nashville. I was on a mission to learn more about marketing and also to learn more about the 5 star hotel experience. In the next few days some videos will appear on this blog showing the experience and why I have discovered that I really don’t like staying in hotels. Keep reading.

Anyway, at the marketing conference I had a great time, met some great people and learned new ways to make sure that Florida Leisure continued to deliver a top quality product,  service and experience to our guests.

I met with people like Gene Simmons. Now what a character he is.  His life story is pretty amazing.

Gene was born in Israel on August 25, 1949 and his mother had  survived the German Nazi concentration camps of World War II.  His father had not been a good provider for the family and his mother later told Gene that the reason that they got divorced was that “he didn’t know how to be successful or how to earn a living”.

As a result of this experience Gene came to America with a resiliance and a determination to show his mother how much he loved her. He worked many jobs and realised that if you had the right attitude and aptitude that you could be really successful in the United States.

Since then Gene has achived worldwide stardom with the band KISS and has become one of the most successful businessmen and entrepreneurs on the planet. KISS has sold more records and made more money from merchandising than any other band or artist on the planet… Elvis and the Beatles included.

Another person I had the great privilege to meet was George Ross… Donald Trump’s righthand man and fellow star of the boardroom battles on The Apprentice.  During the time I had with George I learned more about the art of negotiation than I had ever believed possible. The story of how Trump built his empire is simply inspiring and his attitude of never accepting “no” as an answer even when he was at rock bottom is a lesson everyone in life can learn.

 George has a new book out and for anyone who enjoyed reading his previous book “Trump Strategies for Real Estate” is sure to enjoy his new book “Trump Style Negotiation”.  I’ve now got my signed copy and it’s a great read if you are interested in learning how someone can actually buy 702 properties and make a small fortune in the process. The great thing I learned is that even though George is a tough cookie when negotiating, he is also a perfect gentleman. I treasure the time I had with him.

Another person I met recently and another connected with the world of Trump is Kristi Frank. Kristi starred in the first season of “The Apprentice” and has since owned, managed and sold her restaurant in Santa Monica.

 So I’ve had a pretty busy time recently and I’ve learned a great deal from all of the people I’ve met. The one thing that stands out for me though is that none of them gave up when times got tough. All of them battled through and achieved their goals through sheer hard work and determination.

For those of you wanting to learn how you too can be more successful, get out there, meet successful people, read more, watch and study how successful people act and copy them.

Anyone who hasn’t watched Gene Simmons Family Jewels or read his book “Sex, Money, KISS” needs to do so.

So that was two weeks ago… and last weekend I travelled to Atlanta for the Vacation Home Expo. You can enjoy reading about it here… VacationHomeExpo

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