Monday, October 31, 2016

Being tough

When is being tough just being disrespectful?

I will exercise my first amendment and my freedom of speech and voice my opinion here on the difference of being " tough " and telling people you could care less about their feelings and just being disrespectful.

I have heard it throughout my years in business - people saying " I don't give a crap about what people think I say what I feel and do what ever I want and if they don't like it that's their problem".
Is that being tough or disrespectful?

I do not see the benefit of pissing off anybody- if I do not agree with them I may voice my opinion or I may not, it depends on the circumstances. I do not always need to be the loudest voice, as a matter of fact I prefer to be the quietest voice in the room. I prefer to listen and absorb and to try to find common ground.  The one thing I do know is that life is easier when you have allies and friends, if you can not be friends at least by trying to find a bridge it may make your job easier and you may even learn something.

Shutting people down or shouting louder does not make a person tough nor does it make you right, what it does do is turn people off , so even if you had a valid point it gets lost.
You may think you don't care but you do- otherwise why do you get so worked up?

We all want to accepted and we all have different opinions , if we all simply listen and respect each other's opinion we may eventually find common ground.

After all we are all in the same rat race- we all share the same space -
I know that sounds like a fairy tale but you have to believe in something and have goals and I know that in my experiences when I have released my hate and lowered my shoulders and was the first to extend the olive branch good things happened and I could begin to SEE the other person.

Friday, October 28, 2016

7 Social Media Mistakes That Could Damage Your Career

7 Social Media Mistakes That Could Damage Your Career

             By J.T. Ripton
Social media is booming with opportunities. For some business professionals, it could mean networking that will boost your career to new heights. For others, it could mean the end of your career. Don't be a part of the latter group. Avoid these seven social media mistakes.
Complaining About Your Job or Boss
Putting your complaints out there for the world to see is never the way to go, especially when you have something to say about your job or your boss. Even when you think your posts are safe from your boss, a colleague might be able to forward it to him or her.
Even if that one comment doesn't hurt your job now, it could come back to haunt you later. A future potential employer might see it and decide that you're not worth hiring since you've badmouthed your employers in the past.
Sharing Your Latest Job Offer
The thing about job offers is that they're sometimes confidential. Just because you have the job offer doesn't mean it's a sure thing, and if you break that confidentiality right off the bat, your employer may see you as untrustworthy and revoke the job offer.
Definitely don't say anything negative about the job offer! Mashable reports on a woman who posted, "Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."
Unfortunately, a Cisco employee saw the post. She lost the job before her first day.
Plagiarizing
The typical career counselor might advise you to stay away from bikini pictures, drugs, and profanity to avoid losing your job. Forget about those little mishaps for a second and think about one of the biggest things that can damage your career: plagiarism.
This is an important one, because plagiarism is completely unacceptable in the business world. It will follow you throughout your career, whereas a rant or two won't always prevent future employers from hiring you. Plagiarizing is like screaming, "I'm incompetent and lazy, and I lack integrity!"
It's not just about keeping your professional accounts free from plagiarism, but you also have to hold your personal accounts to the same standards. Are you posting a photo? Give the photographer credit. Quoting an article? Cite the author.
Using Texting Language
It might seem like no big deal to use texting language on social media, especially when it's convenient while posting on your iPad Air or when you can't make your tweet fit otherwise. However, chances are you're better off spelling everything out. Otherwise, you could be losing jobs because of it. A Jobvite survey found that 66 percent of employers look negatively upon poor spelling and grammar on social media.
Posting Tasteless Comments
Any comment meant to offend another person or group could cost you your job. For example, CNN reports on an incident where a former Washington National radio show producer drunkenly tweeted an inflammatory and racist comment about the people of San Antonio after his team lost a game.
Others on the radio show were not amused and fired him for his comment. Wherever you are on the Internet, avoid posting offensive comments like this, even if they're meant as a joke.
Posting Photos With Alcohol
Yes, even if you're over 21, this behavior could cost you your job. In 2009, a teacher named Ashley Payne posted a photo on Facebook of her visit to a brewery while she was on vacation.
Naturally, she had a glass of wine and a beer in her hand. Due to a complaint from a student's parent, the school district suspended her. Steer clear of these photos no matter the situation.
Mocking Your Customers
Like complaining about your boss, mocking or complaining about your customers can have equally poor effects. Several Internet stories involve waiters who have taken photos of poor tips and posted them online only to get fired for doing so. Complaining about customers only shows your company in a bad light. Most employers won't stand for that, so avoid posting these types of complaints online.
What types of social media mistakes have you seen that damaged someone's career?

Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Year was 1908- the last time the Chicago Cubs were MLB Champs

The average life expectancy was 47 years.


Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.


Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.


There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles

Of paved roads.


The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.


The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower


The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.


The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year


A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.


More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .


Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which

Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '


Sugar cost four cents a pound.


Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.


Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.


Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used

Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.



Five leading causes of death were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke


The American flag had 45 stars.


The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!


Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea

Hadn't been invented yet.


There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.


Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

The Year was 1948- the last time the Cleavland Indians were MLB Champs

World Series Champions:
Cleveland Indians
NFL Champions:
Philadelphia Eagles
NBA Champions:
Baltimore Bullets
Stanley Cup Champs:
Toronto Maple Leafs
U.S. Open Golf:
Ben Hogan
U.S. Tennis (Men/Ladies):
Richard A. Gonzales/Margaret Osborne duPont, Dorothy Dandridge
Wimbledon (Men/Women):
Bob Falkenburg/Louis Brough
NCAA Football Champions:
Michigan
NCAA Basketball Champions:
Kentucky
Kentucky Derby:
Citation
The Hotties, Sex Symbols and Fashion Icons:
Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Martine Carol, Ava Gardner, Betty Grable, Jane Russell, Gene Tierney, Lana Turner
"The Quote"
"Tonight, we have a really big show (pronounced shoe)"
- Ed Sullivan
"Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!"
- Alfonso Bedoya, as Gold Hat, in 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre'
"A diamond is forever"
- DeBeers
Time Magazine's Man of the Year:
Harry S. Truman
Miss America:
BeBe Shopp (Hopkins, MN)
The Scandal:
Actor Rex Harrison's mistress, Carole Landis, commited suicide. His career survived, and his marraige to Lilli Palmer survived untl 1957.
Nerd News:
In an alternate reality, Dewey defeated President Truman for the US Presidential election. In this reality Truman won.
The Ford F-series truck was introduced.
Muddy Waters'1948 hit "Rollin' Stone" was the inspiration for a 1960's band a few decades later.
(Hint: It was NOT "The Beatles", "The Who" "The Kinks

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

EGO

You can not serve if your EGO is in the way.

Get over yourself and start looking around- take the day to actually help someone.
It does not matter how big or how small- maybe it is just a smile and a help to someone who looks down, maybe it is a well placed thank you to someone who gave you a smile and a helping hand ?

Your true reward is not monetary it is it serving others.

If you are a successful household goods mover you know that feeling when you deliver your goods and see that relief and smile on the other end- you know that is why you decided to stay in the profession and that is where your memories will be.

I have been with drivers walking in stores and people that they have moved years ago will pass them in the store and come up to them and smile and shake their hands and start talking about their kids or life in general. You have an opportunity to make that kind of impact- how fortunate are you?

In the end people will not remember what you said or even what you did but they will remember how you made them feel.

Get your EGO out of the way and look in front of you- and make a difference today !

Monday, October 24, 2016

Common Sense

How important is common sense ?

Some can make argument that common sense is more important then college degrees, now if you happen to have college degrees AND common sense even better.
For some reason some people that I know that have a higher education seem to have lost the common sense gene,( unless they never had it to begin with).

My mentor, Paul Arpin, did not happen to have a college degree or even a high school diploma , he had to leave high school to help support his family at the time. Paul was able to take a moving company that was mostly local and had a few trucks and grow it to one of the biggest household moving companies in the world. Of course his sons, David and Peter jumped on the mid eighties to help propel the company to the level that is now- but make no mistake Paul steered the ship for those important first few decades.
Paul may not have had degrees on his wall in his office but he had common sense and a great business mind, mostly he had the drive and later felt great responsibility to do the best job he could not only for him and his family but for everyone.

I sat in many meetings with Paul and watched and listened and learned. Paul would always arrange meetings with whoever he felt could help with the subject he was addressing at the time and he would always listen. Steering the conversation and eliminating the BS he would gather the information he needed to make his decision. Paul also had the best BS meter out of anyone that I ever met, if you did not know the answer you were best to just admit it , say you will find the answer- find the answer and return at that time but for heaven's sake do not try to tap dance your way out of it.
The thing is once you know that someone is a bull shitter your trust diminishes and seeing that there is so much time in the day Paul did not have time to invest in those people so they usually found themselves on the outside looking in sooner rather than later.

When I joined Arpin in 1985 they were a 7 million dollar company and they are now a company of over 200 million.

As they say if you want to be successful watch and learn from those that are successful.
I have learned a lot here at Arpin - in short I have learned the common sense trumps all and that treating others with respect will help form the allies that you will need to stay successful..and happy.


Friday, October 21, 2016

Take a Breath

Do yourself a favor and during the course of the day take several deep breaths.

Just stop and try to remember to take in a few real deep breaths and try to relax your mind.
Our minds are in constant motion and sometimes we just need to take in the moment and breathe.
While you are breathing in try to relax your body, start with your toes and work your way up. You will be surprised that if you concentrate on doing this you will find your body tense. I do it and every time I find my feet and toes curled up without even knowing it and my shoulders tense.
By trying to remember to take in deep breaths and relaxing our bodies we will start to try to relieve ourselves of our daily stress.

Life is what happens to us as we are busy planning and worrying and before you know it is has just passed you by. Accent the positive- be the change maker- try it.
Try smiling the next time you call someone, yes they can actually see and feel your smile over the phone, and I do not mean skype. People can sense when you are genuine and they can sense when you are tense or angry.
You will always be received better if you approach a person positively- therefore you will accomplish more and in the end you will feel better about yourself.

That is what it is all about isn't it ?.. Trying to find that happy place ?

Breathe in .. hold it ..then release ..and repeat.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Passionate about life

Passionate about life

You also need to be passionate about your personal life. Tony Robbins simply says, “Live with passion!” This includes all areas of your life. The danger is that leaders can spend so much time and energy at work that they can easily forget to be passionate about their personal life. Being passionate about work and your personal life needs to coexist if you want to be a passionate leader. It’s difficult to show or have passion at work if you fail to be or have passion in your personal life.

There are practical ways for you to increase your passion in your personal life. The first suggestion is to take at least 1 day per week to rest and relax. When you spend time relaxing it allows your passion and energy level to recharge. You can’t always be going and expect to have passion. Passionate leaders need rest if they want to remain passionate. The second suggestion is to find and participate in activities, hobbies, and events you enjoy doing. During your days off do things you enjoy or have a passion for doing. These things will allow your passion to skyrocket.

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Passionate about work

Passionate about work

Leaders need to be passionate about their work. You should take time to identify the aspects in your leadership role that you enjoy doing. These are the things that motivate you to arrive at work on a daily basis and captivate your attention while at work. Start the process by finding and focusing on your areas of strengths. Your enjoyment level and strengths are closely connected with each other. When you consistently work in areas of your strengths your satisfaction and enjoyment level will increase. This allows your passion to shine brightly through.

At the same time you should avoid or delegate the tasks that leave you drained or unfulfilled. These have the potential to be passion deflators. Spending most of your time in these areas will drain your energy and passion. Make sure to spend at least 80 percent of your time doing the things that you enjoy and are passionate about while spending 20 percent of your time on less enjoyable tasks. Increase your passion at work by focusing on your strengths or areas you enjoy working in while limiting the areas you despise or don’t like.

Monday, October 17, 2016

Procratination

Procrastination-

The key is careful planning. Careful is the operative word in that sentence. For procrastinators, planning isn’t usually a problem. They love planning because planning involves not actually doing! Procrastinators’ plans often have little actual thought, are vague or open-ended, and can lack detail or direction. Instead, you’ll need to make a detailed plan. The following steps will guide you.
  1. Establish the objective.
Specifically identify what you want to achieve. You may be familiar with the concept of SMART goals—but if you aren’t, here’s a link to a previous blog post from David Witt. When you know exactly what you want to achieve, you’ll be able to lay out a clear path on how you want to get there.
  1. Prioritise what you want to achieve, putting the most important task first.
As a leader, you’ll need to balance your priorities with the priorities of the team. It’s really easy to establish a list of 15 things to do and then have no idea where to start because they all seem equally important. So first identify the things you need to do. Remember that priorities evolve as you move forward on your tasks. Therefore, you’ll need to review your and your team’s priorities from time to time to see if they have changed.
  1. Gather the information you need to make a decision.
Having relevant information means that you’ll be able to justify and explain your decision when the time comes. And the more information you have, the more confident you’ll be in making that decision. Don’t lose sight of your objectives here. It’s easy to fall into a trap and think you can’t make this decision because you don’t have all of the information. Don’t put off a decision because you’re waiting for arbitrary details.
  1. Consider all of the sensible options and select the best one.
With any good plan, there are likely to be a number of choices you can make. Identify your options and remove those that aren’t logical. Then choose the best option—the one that is going to help achieve your objectives whilst meeting your priorities.
  1. Take action.
This is the hardest part—but now that you’ve clarified your decision, you’ll find it easier to take action. You’ve established a clear and sensible path to achieving a specific outcome instead of our procrastinating leader’s vague, open-ended to-do list.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Dead Weight

"Dead Weight"
Song lyrics written by Crystal Bowersox-
If it's meant to be
Baby oh just let it be, let it bee
Don't go beating dead horses,
Keep steady your course, you'll see
Sing our lullaby,
All things impossible in being nice
Dreams don't take to your soul,
It's the only thing no one can take

And if you don't know, I'll tell you
Just take down your load and wipe your frown
If you're holding on to dead weight
It's just holding you down
Oh you're gonna sink or swim,
You better let it go now
Let it go now

Hear my lover's side,
Lying on a nothing set in black and white
Oh but as I get older,
Each moment means more than the last
So I say we waste our time
On cigarettes and cheaá¹— red wine
We'll sing well into the night,
That light will be coming up fast

And if you don't know, I'll tell you
Just take down your load and wipe your frown
If you're holding on to dead weight it's just holding you down
Oh you're gonna sink or swim, you better let it go now
Let it go now
Let it go now

And if you don't know, I'll tell you
Just take down your load and wipe your frown
If you're holding on to dead weight it's just holding you down
Oh you're gonna sink or swim, you better let it go now
Oh, let it go now
Let it go
Let it go
Let it go
Oh, let it go now
Let it go now
 

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Keep Your Cool

When you encounter those that - Blame-  keep your cool.
 
 WHY?-
 
 Because when people are blaming others they are doing so because their conscious mind are afraid to confront themselves as it stimulates a pain in their brain.
 
A simple example would be, when someone cooks for you, you eat it and find it tastes bad, still you eat and complain that it tastes bad!
 
So, what would be a better decision, one would be, To not eat it and tell truthfully it tastes bad! or to eat it although it tastes bad.
 
The people who always blame others are in middle of the two possible solutions. And these people are often confused, depressed and worried. So, rather than being angry, take a profound look at their daily lives and you will find their problems.
 
Delve into their problems, and feel their emotions, and if they want a suggestion, help them. If you don't like them as much, leave them be. Because there are lots of things in this world that you can put your thoughts to.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

The Blame Game

 The "blame game" is a form of narcissism.

Learn a bit about this condition before you implement any plan of action as this may influence how you decide to handle this situation -

A few points to consider.-

1) "blamers" often do this as a defensive mechanism because of their own insecurities.

2) Blaming can be a form of control. For people who blame, it’s a way of avoiding external repercussions and  blamers seek something from their victims, whether it is emotional,  monetary, fun, reassurance or psychological stability.

3) the act of blaming can be a difficult behavior to change because it can become very self perpetuating when it is reinforcing itself in the blamers mind each time the tactic is used.

4) often, when thing really bother us about others, it is because it reminds us of a personal flaw so make sure you are not acting on your own insecurities. (great rule of thumb, first seek to fix yourself.)

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Develop a Attitude of Gratitude

Develop an Attitude of Gratitude

 If you want to be truly present and benefit from appreciating your daily life, you must develop an attitude of gratitude.

The habit of feeling grateful and expressing that gratitude to other people, by saying “thank you” to those in your life, and to yourself for all of the wonderful things in your life every day will have amazing effects on your personality, and your ability to live in the present.
An attitude of gratitude makes you a warmer, friendlier, and more genial. An attitude of gratitude makes you more sensitive and more aware of others around you and your environment.

The more gratitude you have, and the more gratitude you express, the happier and brighter your life will become.

When we are thankful to others and express a wonderful attitude to those around us on a regular basis, we can change the lives of others as well as our own.

Start each morning by saying, “I believe something wonderful is going to happen to me today.”

Repeat it over and over.

Monday, October 3, 2016

How to deal with " Blamers "..

So, how do you deal with people who " blame"..

1) talk to the person, ask them why they feel others are to blame in specific situations, consider their answer. Is there ANY truth to how they see the situation? Believe in your instinct and common sense and ask yourself if you are really to blame in a situation where you are being blamed.

2)Let them know how it made you feel, when they blamed you for something that you felt was not your fault or was out of your control, avoid whether they were "right" or "wrong" as that is only your opinion and it will be a very difficult battle to "win".

3) Have a good sense of yourself and how you feel. Remember that if you can see the behavior as anti social, others will as well.
You do not need to be the enforcer, sometimes the best course of action is to simply remove yourself from the situation and leave the affected parties to fight their own battles. Blamers can have a negative effect on the people around them, but their true power comes from the people who allow them to disrupt and influence their lives.

4) Consider putting extra distance between you and the blamer, you can not force change on others, but you can change yourself. Relationships of this nature are often just a one-way street where you  put a lot into it but the reciprocal feeling is only an  illusion.

Seek relationships with people who believe in you and support your ambitions.

Become Self Aware



It’s very easy to get completely caught up in planning for the future, that we often forget to take the time to appreciate the wonderful things happening in our daily lives.

Become Very Self-Aware

The first thing you can do to live in the present is to become very self-aware.

To perform your best, acknowledge the beauty of your life and be happy, you need to know who you are and why you think and feel the way you do. You are where you are and what you are because of yourself.

You have gotten yourself to where you are as the result of the choices and decisions that you have made in the past.  If you want to be somewhere else in the future, it is up to you to make new and better choices and decisions in the present.