I saw this on Twitter today and it really moved me. I would have retweeted it, but it was too long to, and it would have suffered severely from editing – it’s perfect exactly like it is.

Turns out it’s a lyric from a Jack Johnson song, “Better Together”. Enjoy!

I’ve been working for the past few weeks with sales trainers Alice Kemper and Nancy Bleeke on the launch of their new product, Sharpenz, which launched today. (Congrats, ladies!!!)

As disclosure: yes, they’re clients; no, this post isn’t part of my consulting engagement with them – I just think they have a really cool product some of you might be interested in, plus it’s plain good business to promote your clients, even when they’re not paying you to do so, right?

As a student of entrepreneurship, I’m always fascinated when someone comes up with a truly innovative product in what you might otherwise think is an already saturated market segment. You’d think, for example, that sales training would be a pretty mature field. Sure, there are always new perspectives and techniques being developed, because the nature of buying and selling is constantly changing. But what about the delivery mechanism? What’s left to innovate there?

And then I saw Sharpenz.

The concept is simple enough, but I’ve still never seen anything quite like it.

I’ll explain the basics, but if you’ve got a couple of minutes, you really should check out the videos from Nancy and Alice and hear it in their own words. Those links open in a new window so you can watch & listen as you continue reading, if you like.

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There’s something really cool happening every day this week – 2 are in Austin, 2 are virtual. I’m going to write more about each of them individually, but I wanted to go ahead and get the whole list out while it’s still Monday.

Monday – My client Sharpenz is launching today, offering engaging, effective and affordable sales training that sales managers can deliver in just half an hour. You can download a free sales booster and try it with your team. You can also get a second free sales booster by helping spread the word. More in a separate post later today.

Tuesday – The incredibly awesome Donna Fox is speaking at AIMEN (Austin Internet Marketing Entrepreneurs Network). This is one of the best monthly events in Austin and Donna is truly a rock star of internet marketing, credit repair, business credit building and real estate investment. It’s free, but you have to register in advance.

Wednesday – My friend Sharon Drew Morgen has an awesome new book called Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what you can do about it. It actually comes out on Thursday, but on Wednesday she’s doing a free webinar entitled “What’s Stopping You From Closing All the Sales You Should Be Closing?” (a question I’ve asked myself often). The webinar is part of Maestro Month, a month of free teleseminars from world-class thought leaders – definitely worth checking out. You can also follow Sharon Drew on Twitter.

Thursday – Game On Austin is “A fun-packed night featuring video-game tournaments, demos, and raffles from some of the most creative independent video-game studios and developers in Austin, Texas.” It’s for all ages, so break your teenager away from their Xbox or PS3 and come on out.

Friday night I attended a screening of The Shadow Effect (which I highly recommend –- more on that later). In it, Debbie Ford quotes a poem by 13-century poet and mystic Rumi. I was deeply moved by its call for us to all embrace the diversity of the human experience. All too often in our incessant pursuit of happiness we miss the greater fulfillment of experiencing a variety of emotions and knowing that they are all part of the beautiful bigger picture of our lies.

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

– Jelaluddin Rumi,
   translation by Coleman Barks

Image by by Poorfish via flickr