Kick Butt Tip: Negotiate Everything As If Your Life Depended On It

Today's Kick Butt Tip of the Day is from author Chris Voss. Chris wrote a really popular book back in 2016. The title of that book is "Never Split the Difference." Readers of the book will quickly discover that Chris is a master at negotiations. Whether in the corporate world or in your everyday life, Chris will teach you techniques and thought processes to vastly improve any negotiation.

For me, a few words on the book cover got my attention. "Negotiate As If Your Life Depended On It." No matter whether you are at home, at church or school, we all negotiate on a daily basis.

Today's Kick Butt Tip of the Day is: "Empathy is paying attention to another human being, asking what they are feeling and making a commitment to understanding their world."

When speaking one-on-one with others or in a round-table discussion, do we always consider the other person's point of view? For many of us, the answer is probably no or not as much as we should. For me, during a meeting or a conversation, I have my own personal or professional goals that I would like to accomplish. The other individual has a goal as well.

Also, during a conversation or a negotiation, we often find ourselves at odds. Please remember to not have an issue with the person sitting across from you. The problem is most likely in the details in reference to the topic that you are discussing. The other person has their facts, thoughts and feelings and so do you. Find a way to bridge the gap and if possible, make it a win-win for you both.

Remember, God don't make no junk. You are awesome! Now go be awesome.

- Don Chase's Kick Butt Tip of the Day is a daily motivational feature designed to give you the inspiration you need to power through your day. Check out all the Kick Butt Tips here.

The third week of January is always one of my favorites in my work as I get to write about and celebrate Dolly Parton's birthday (1/19). Her birthday has become "Dolly Parton week" in Nashville and anywhere her millions of fans are located.

I love diving back into one of the reasons I fell in love with country music in the first place, not long after seeing the movie 9 to 5 in the movie theater and wanting to know more and more about the wonderful Parton.

When I was a teenager, the way to get good seats to see your favorite music stars in concert was sleeping outside at night in line at the box office to be first in line when the box office opened. I did just that in January in the cold of Salt Lake City, Utah, waiting to get tickets to see Dolly in concert with Kenny Rogers. The feat paid off as I sat in the first row of the show, singing every word.

In the many interviews I have done with Parton since I moved to Nashville, I never confessed to her my devotion and sacrifice to see her the very first time. However, it was those early days and my teenage years of devotion that made me appreciate her work so much.

As we celebrate her birthday this week (1/19), I dove into her many music videos and because of when my love for this icon began in the 1980s and 1990s, a couple videos from my list of her best videos are from that time period. Before we look at the five videos, I wanted to highlight two of her most recent music videos from her 2023 Rockstar album.

"We are The Champions/ We Will Rock You" (2023) - This video came out and focused on her covers of two Queen classics.

Another video I must mention from Rockstar is the one she did with Linda Perry, covering Perry's 4 Non Blondes song "What's Up?" Perry appears with Parton in the video, playing guitar and singing along in the chorus. It's also fun to see Parton wearing jeans, which she rarely does.

This music video shows footage and moments of Dolly and Kenny Rogers when they toured together for a few years in the early 1980s. It is to be cherished; although they recorded together many times, the music icons only toured together in the 1980s.

This music video is also a gem. It is the only music video to feature Parton with fellow country music Queens and icons Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn, who have both since passed. The beginning of the music video shows a fun clip of music and guitar icon Chet Atkins trying to get backstage to see the country queens. The security guard says, "I don't care if you are Chet Atkins, you can't get in," and Chet replies, "I am Chet Atkins." It was Atkins who first signed Dolly to a RCA recording contract in the 1960s.

This fun video starts with Dolly auditioning men to play her leading man in the video, and it's pretty funny. At one point, a car salesman auditions just to meet her, and she quips, "I think you're real cute." The video starts after he says, "Dolly, is that you?" This is just pure fun.

This is one of Dolly's songs that I always thought should have been a big hit. It was one of the rare songs not written by Parton. The music video, shot in black and white, shows Parton singing as well as scenes of people overcoming obstacles in their lives.

Broadway actress and movie star Kristin Chenoweth plays in this video that is circus-themed and shows Parton dressed as a circus conductor advising women to "get to living." In true Dolly style, the song shows a positive attitude toward life, something she has always possessed.