About 30 years ago I read a book by Robert Schuller called The Peak to Peek Principle.  It talks about reaching new peaks in your career and life.  And then when you reach that peak you can peek to the new plateau.  In other words, success is a journey and not a destination.   Well yesterday I reached a new peak in Active Rain of 400,000 points.  Now I can more than peek to 500,000 and beyond.  I met the goal I had set for myself and I was one day ahead of my stretch goal. Actually the journey has been just as rewarding as the destination.  I have learned from all of you in the Active Rain community.  You really are the best bloggers for meaningful content and I am very proud to be part of this community.   01/10/2015

This is a call for all entrepreneurs in Westchester County New York, Fairfield or Rockland Counties.  Now is you time to take your business to the next level. Are you an entrepreneur who has been in business for two years?  Maybe you have already spent many hours working on building your business.  If you are looking to make you business a lasting and sustainable business I urge you to attend this year's Academy for Entrepreneurial Excellence. The Academy is a cooperative effort between the Business Council of Westchester and Westchester Communtiy College.  Many of the business success stories in Westchester have come from the Academy. This is a 12 week course taught on Tuesday nights beginning January 27, 2015.  There is a free orientation session on Tuesday, January 20, 2015. In addit... 01/07/2015

It has taken me some time to think about my Pay It Forward.  In my opinion Pay it Forward is helping people from whom you could never expect anything.  Although that is really not tue because the satisfaction you get from a warm smile of gratitude is all that is needed. I have have volunteered at a self help group called Women Helping Women.  It is a group sponsored by a faith based organization but is open to all.  The group is open to women who are unemployed.  To be more specific this is a group of middle aged women who find themselves in unfamiliar territory and are, quite frankly, stuck and even scared.  They could have been the victims of a corporate downsize, for example.  I am sure there are readers that can relate to this.  In any event, these women are talented people who are ... 12/31/2014

When I teach people goal setting and goal achievement I use New Years resolutions as examples of goals that don't have a strong why.  Many times people make resolutions as they are celebrating on New Years Eve.   My favorite example the the New Years resolution to go to the gym.  I go to the gym and today I had the entire place almost to myself.   Off to the distance one person is on the treadmill.  I have my choice of treadmills. I am enjoying it while I can.  Next week it will be crowed.  But no worries, by the end of February it will be empty again.   Do you have a strong why for your New Years resolution? 12/29/2014

Why did you become a Real Estate agent?  Or, for that matter, why did you choose your business or profession?  Why does it really matter anyway? Maybe you heeded the Nike slogan “Just do it!”  In my previous blog READY, SET, GO...WAIT I talked about procrastination.  If nothing is working maybe there is another reason.  PASSION. I was recently working with a Westchester County NY coaching client on his business development. He was struggling with his growth and was having trouble getting his team on board. He was having a hard time accomplishing the objectives that we have worked on together in his plan. These were the goals that he had established in previous sessions. After failing to complete some of the tasks we had outlined from our previous meetings over several weeks, I asked him... 12/28/2014

I was just going through some old family photos and found one of Christmas 20 years ago. This picture was taken at my parents' home in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania were we grew up.  Our family was visiting for the day from Armonk, NY and my sister who had recently moved from Pennsylvania to Florida was up for the holidays. I am on the far left and my sister is front center.  My younger brother was probably taking the picture.  The two girls in the rear are my daughers and my nephew Jonathan is next to them.  Jonathan now has three boys of his own and we received a video today of their Christmas morning.   Everyone of us has wonderful memories of family and friends.  It is great to look back.   Happy Holidays! 12/25/2014

It has been a busy December for me and now on Christmas Eve I am finally ready with the house.  Every year I start the decorating the day before Thanksgiving.  I put up the outside lights before it gets too cold although I don't turn them on until much closer to Christmas.   I grew up in Pennsylvania where the decorations consisted of lights on evergreen tree and a wreath on the white door.  We would illuminate our door with a spotlight.   Here in Armonk, NY we have one evergreen and some shrubs so we light the shrubs as well.   We don't have as much up this year as we did when the girls were home.  In the past we would have nutcrackers spread throughout the house.  They did not come out this year.  Some are large enough to stand on the floor.   Inside the house our tree fills the bay w... 12/24/2014

The three words Ready, Set, Go are familiar in many competitive sports such as track or swimming.  A swimmer needs to make the right dive at the start time or the momentum will be lost.  He must be prepared to leave the block at the very second of GO.  Proper preparation does prevent poor performance.  I don't think that you can be over prepared but I do think you can spend too much time preparing.  I am sure you have run into the client does not want to buy or sell until all the conditions are perfect. People can over analyze and tell themselves that they don’t want to take action until everything is perfect. A coach colleague of mine has coined this habit “Getting ready to go to work”. I cannot start until I get my brochures, business cards, website, 2 number 2 pencils—you get the ide... 12/21/2014

I was going through old Christmas cookie recepies with my sister and found some of my grandmother's old recepies.  At this time of year many of us think back our childhood.  I remember having these Christmas cookies.  I told my wife I would make some cookies for the holidays this year.  This recepie is for a gingerbread cookie called Pfeffernüsse.   Ingredients     1/2 cup molasses     1/4 cup honey     1/4 cup shortening     1/4 cup margarine     2 eggs     4 cups all-purpose flour     3/4 cup white sugar     1/2 cup brown sugar     1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg     1 teaspoon ground cloves     1 teaspoon ground ginger     2 teaspoons anise extract     2 teaspoons ground cinnamon     1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda     1 teaspoon ground black pepper     1/2 teasp... 12/18/2014

Consumers and business customers are highly educated and knowledgeable about a product or service before they meet you.  They don't need a purveyor of information as much as they need an assistant buyer.  A skilled salesperson will help a prospect decide by asking the right questions.  Unfortunately, many salespeople start the sales process by asking a closing question.  For example, "What would it take for you to put in an offer in today?” The salesperson wants the prospect to say yes. However, an experienced salesperson will tell you that you shouldn’t ask a closing question until you are sure that the answer will be “Yes!” This means that you first need to determine your prospect’s wants and needs. I have found in my coaching process that most people having trouble with sales do not ... 12/14/2014

Garbage in garbage out.  Negative in negative out.  You can’t put negative in and expect to get positive out. This universal law applies to business and to life.  If you want positive results from others you will have to communicate positive things.  If you are leading a team how is it working out?  Do your members care and take personal ownership?  Or is the opposite true?  Do that fail to follow your lead or accept your guidance.  There could be any number of causes for this disconnect between leader and team. However, poor communication is the major cause of disconnects between people in most cases. Clear communication and keeping everyone in the loop is really not difficult to achieve. The first step is to create positive results by being positive in your communication. Here are six... 12/07/2014

Last Saturday Frosty brought holiday cheer to all of the children in Armonk, NY.  As noted of the website ArmonkFrosty.com "where several religions are symbolized in civic and educational settings, Frosty the Snowman remains a symbol of excitement of the winter holiday season.   The town is now lit up with that theme.  First of all, our gazebo has not been rebuilt in Wampus Brook Park but the follow display has been made. And the Armonk "Village Square" is decorated for the season welcoming shoppers and visitors.     Information and photos provided by Grant Schneider, Performance Development Strategies.   Would you like to know how to make your local business thrive?  Contact us!   12/04/2014

Most of us are working on our new goals for 2015.  What are the new initiative we want to begin?  What do want want to do more?  But how about asking this?  What should I stop doing in 2015?  You may wish to stop doing something that simply did not work and wasted too much of your time.  Or you may discover something that you are doing that is an obstacle to your successful achievement of goals. Removing the obstacle will clear the way for achievement of the new goal. Now is the perfect time to review your activities to see if they are really productive. Look for things that you should not be doing. Maybe now is the time to make some changes and eliminate those things. Attitudes, behaviors, and activities can account for our success or failure. We should be measuring the results of our ... 11/30/2014

As a coach and consultant helping small business in Westchester County New York I love to promote Small Business Saturday.  This Saturday, November 29 remember to shop local and support your small businesses. I would like to highlight a local Armonk Business Hickory & Tweed Ski Shop in Armonk NY.  This shop has been in the same family for three generations.  The current owner, Skip caters to skiers and bikers in the entire area.  The prices are resonable and attention to detail and service is spectactular.  Make a stop here for some holiday gifts.     Information and photos provided by Grant Schneider, Performance Development Strategies.   Would you like to know how to make your local business thrive?  Contact us! 11/28/2014

You have to have a dream in order to have a dream come true.  That is from a song in the musical South Pacific.  Once you have that dream you need to turn it into a reality.  If you want your dream to come true you need to take action.  Your dream becomes a goal when you attach action steps and deadlines to them. Many people are good at making goals but that is where it stops. The goals are never accomplished. It’s important to set goals, but the step that many may miss is the ability to develop the detailed plan needed to achieve the goal.Goals start with dreams. What are your dreams? Can you visualize them and verbalize them? This is important. In order to create the motivation to achieve your goal you must have a burning desire to reach it. If you have made goals in the past and have... 11/23/2014

This is a picture of my wife and I with our two daughters Lindsay and Ashley. We had just returned from Disney World.  This picture was taken July 1990. It is fun to look back at this.  I hope we will be taking this trip again soon.   11/20/2014

Before we make a major purpose we usually ask ourselves whether this is a good investment of our money.  We usually do research of features and make an informed decision. How many of us got up this morning and thought about how we would invest our time?  Probably not many.  Unfortunately, most people do not approach time in the same manner. It is true that you will get more out of the time you have when you learn to get more out of your life. What do you want? What are your values? What do you believe and what are your priorities? The answer to these questions will determine how you spend your day. In order to get more out of you time, you need to know what you want to get out of it. There is a difference between spending time and investing time. According to Webster to spend is to use ... 11/16/2014

Nothing says shop local more than Hudson Valley Restaurant Week.  The Restaurant Week is actually almost two weeks.  It began on November 3 and lasts until November 16.   I have a list of favorites right here in Armonk, NY. The Beehive Restaurant Address: 30 Old Route 22, Armonk, NY 10504 Phone:(914) 765-0688 Website: www.beehive-restaurant.com/   Marc Charles Steakhouse   Address: 94 Business Park Dr, Armonk, NY 10504 Phone:(914) 273-2700 Website: www.marccharlessteakhouse.com   Restaurant North Address: 386 Main St, Armonk, NY 10504 Phone:(914) 273-8686 Website: www.restaurantnorth.com/   Opus 465 Address: 465 Main St, Armonk, NY 10504 Phone:(914) 273-4676 Website: www.opus465.com   Moderne Barn Address: 430 Bedford Rd, Armonk, NY 10504 Phone:(914) 730-0001 Website: www.modernebarn.co... 11/11/2014

The month of November is dedicated to local small businesses.  It is important to understand that small businesses really drive our economy.  While it is important to support small business it is equally important for those businesses to know that, with focus and a clear vision, they can compete with the larger businesses including big box stores. The same holds true for Real Estate which is a local business.  And don't forget the many partner businesses that support Real Estate.  It is a fact that small business generates most of the new jobs in this country. We need local small business to grow our economy.  Last Thursday, I met with a group of local small business owners in Westchester County New York.  I spoke along with someone from the local SCORE chapter.  Our message was clear. ... 11/09/2014

Many of you expressed interest in my post CAUTION:SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BITE YOU.  My main focus was in using social media to check on potential employees, tenants, or buyers.   I would like to further clarify a legal dangers for a Real Estate agent and those selling or renting as it relates to Fair Housing. Unintended consequences can result from seemingly innocent actions.  So lets talk about housing.  You already know what you can say and what you can't ask or tell people about housing. Aside from that, your due diligence requires that you check on potenial tenants.  So let's take an example. You are the rental agent for a luxury house in a luxury neighborhood.  Your due diligence requires that you get a renter who can pay the rent and does not destroy the house.  So you order a credit re... 11/06/2014