Whiners

We have become a society of whiners.

Definition of whiners-
 to snivel or complain in a peevish, self-pitying way: He is always whining about his problems.

We have much more than our great grand parents or even our grandparents ever dreamed of and all most people can do is whine and complain.

They complain as they drive in the brand new lease automobile while talking on their new smart phone probably driving to have a $25.00 lunch somewhere.
Whiners.

People even complain when they go on vacation, a word not even known to our grand parents or for that matter even my own parents. Vacation was something that that rich kids did, if we were lucky we my sisters and me would all jump in their used Rambler and we would drive to the local park.
Vacation- are you kidding?
My grandmother had the old wash bucket and hung her cloths out to dry. The laundry mat was too rich for her blood.
And yet we complain.

We have more and we want more.
Always worrying about the next purchase, the next vacation.

So we whine.

Most work in jobs that give very little back and do not give us the satisfaction that we seek or the appreciation we strive for so they whine.

Sure is hard to just stop and appreciate when our heads are always buried in our techno stuff.

Did we actually advance with all this stuff??

Mentor

One good mentor could be more informative than a college education and more valuable than a decades income.

Help mentor somebody.

How did you learn ? Who took their time to show you?

Remember that school, college and books are good but nothing beats on the job training. All the books do is give you a running start but no matter what when you come out in the real world your real education begins.
How do you work with others?
How to learn personalities and how to work with them?
How do show simple respect?
All things that you cannot learn from a book or a class or a video.

If you consider yourself somewhat of a success, if you think you learned a few lessons the hard way than pass it on to someone to maybe save them the heartache or the head banging.

Yes, you do have something to offer, something very valuable..experience.

The details

It's the little details that are vital.
Little things make big things happen.

This is so true, like my old boss would say watch your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Pay attention to the details, the little things. Things like the way you speak to the person ansering the phones at a agency or a business.
Do you brush them off or are you polite ?
You can see a smile on the phone- do you treat everybody the same way ?

It is the details that matter- habits you create.
Doing it the same way every time- the right way.

Gossip and communication

Avoid tendencies to become caught up in gossip, complaining, or other forms of negativity in day-to-day interactions.
Be mindful of the following quote by Ruth Anne Crouse, “What Peter tells me about Paul tells me more about Peter than it tells me about Paul.” Recognize that your actions will influence how others perceive you.

Be intentional in your communications.
Plan to listen to the other person without interruption and practice effective listening skills. Develop an awareness of the respect that you display in all areas of your communications, including what you say, how you say it, your voice tone, and the body language that you demonstrate.

Forgiveness

You forgive not only for the other person BUT for yourself.

In order to accomplish inner peace with ourselves we must first learn to forgive.

Carrying that weight of revenge , or envy or hate will only do yourself harm.

Free yourself -

Let it go.. Forgive 

Sacrifice

I guess people have different meanings to the word- sacrifice.

To truly sacrifice something you need to distinguish between WANT and NEED.

If you want the shiny toys then you have to work more and if you work more then you will have less down time - it is YOUR decision - the thing is if you are a middle class blue collar worker then you must decide- what is your priority- ?
Can you sacrifice ?
Think of what is MOST important to you and work it from there.
And remember that time is not always promised us so think of your goal , of what you want to work toward and work for- and work toward it and be willing to sacrifice for it.

Overwelmed

Ever just feel overwhelmed?

Welcome to the world.. we ALL feel that way from time to time. Life can be hard and it can throw us curve balls but that is LIFE.
If you look at it like " why me " or that you must be doing something wrong or the other guy has it figured it out then you are all wrong. They just cover it up better or they just look at it as a part of life and look at the positive side.
Yup- there is always a positive side- are you breathing ? Walking ? then stay positive.
No matter how big the problem you CAN overcome and you can learn from it.
No if you are looking for a quick fix or some pixie dust then it you will just get more frustrated.
The bigger the hole the longer you may need to dig out...but you can dig out.
Be the change- stick to it and make up your mind- go forward !

Never give up

 

Give it your all ..but never give up !

 

 

 

 

Muhammad Ali was a perfect example of giving it your all and never giving up. He fought his way from the streets , he had nothing and his family was poor and from KY. He worked hard and trained and entered the Olympics in 1960. He won and brought back his intensity and tenacity and his boastfulness and knocked out the Heavy weight champion of the world Sonny Listen , who most thought would never lose never mind to this pretty much unknown kid.
 He found himself in the middle of our race wars and switched religion and refused to be drafted. They , the government, took away what men in his heavyweight division could not- they took his belt and deprived him of fighting for three years until the courts overturned their decision. With three years off he came back , worked hard and took on the then heavyweight champion of the world- Joe Frazier. He lost that fight so he went back to work and never gave up.
He worked harder and was determined to win back the belt that was taken from him. Even though his prime years was taken from him he was given another opportunity in a championship fight with a man that was in his prime , George Foreman . There was no way Ali should have won that fight, George was not only in his prime he was a towering man and was knocking out everybody in his sights, including Joe Frazier. But through hard work and dedication and a goal he would not surrender Ali won.
Ali represented a lot to a lot of people and through it all he never loss perspective.
After that fight with Foreman that was fought in Africa the press was trying to find him hours later and he wondered off on his own and was sitting on the steps of a house in a near by village he was showing some local kids some magic tricks.
How cool is that ..even after all he went through, all the battles and sweat and tears- he reaches his goal once again-  and he is reaching out to those less fortunate just enjoying the moment.

GIVE IT YOUR ALL...AND NEVER GIVE UP !

Opportunity

Opportunity looks a lot like hard work.

You never know when opportunity may knock but that said opportunity presents itself through hard work.
When I bought my first car at 16 I need a job so my first job was washing dishes, I then get a 2nd job stocking shelves at a shoe store at 17 ,  through hard work my manager asked if I would like to try sales and then because he like my work he asked if I would consider being his assistant then I became the youngest manager for this chain store at 21.
Each job I held I did my best and learned and opportunity continued to show itself through hard work.
From there I went to dispatching service trucks for Honeywell and learned as I went and after three years the manager wanted to me to stay and take on more but my next opportunity came in the way of Arpin Van Lines. Honeywell was a good company and they treated me well but their home office was in Minnesota and I preferred to work for someplace where the owner actually knew me.
I worked my way up from dispatcher of the Northeast section of the US to Director of dispatch to Vice President.

30 plus years later I can say that it was a great opportunity . But opportunity did not just knock on my door.
 I earned it , every step of the way.- I do not believe that anyone OWES me anything- I was paid along the way.

Opportunity looks a lot like hard work .

More of my interview with CEO David Arpin

I sat down with David Arpin, President of Arpin Van Lines, and had a casual conversation on how Arpin was started and when he got involved.

 

Being a past driver himself, he has plenty of stories. We also talked a bit about the philosophy and goals of the van line. I think you will appreciate his honesty and sincerity.

 

Every week, I will be releasing a different video and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

 

Here is the second and third video in the series of “Meet Your President”:

 

#2 - Transitioning From Driver to Administrator - https://youtu.be/NieTGtC-fQE

 

#3- What is your most memorable move you were a part of ON The Road-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKbDERe-eCU

 

 

 

 

From City Slickers

From the movie- City Slickers-


Value this time in your life kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices, and it goes by so quickly. When you’re a teenager you think you can do anything, and you do. Your twenties are a blur. Your thirties, you raise your family, you make a little money and you think to yourself, “what happened to my twenties?” Your forties, you grow a little pot belly you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud and one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother. Your fifties you have a minor surgery. You’ll call it a procedure, but it’s a surgery. Your sixties you have a major surgery, the music is still loud but it doesn’t matter because you can’t hear it anyway. Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale, you start eating dinner at two, lunch around ten, breakfast the night before. And you spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate in soft yogurt and muttering “how come the kids don’t call?” By your eighties, you’ve had a major stroke, and you end up babbling to some Jamaican nurse who your wife can’t stand but who you call Mama.

The One Thing

From the movie City Slickers-


Curly: You know what the secret of life is?
Mitch: No, what?
Curly: This.
Mitch: Your finger?
Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean shit.
Mitch: That’s great, but what’s the one thing?
Curly: That’s what you’ve got to figure out.

Trues words have never been spoken- everybody's ONE THING is different.
What is yours?

You'll never know

You'll never know if you never try

Reach for the stars they say
Take a chance they say
Go for it

All easy to say but depending on what your goal is sometimes it takes guts.
Nothing good comes easy, especially if you are trying to do something difficult, something out of your comfort zone.
The problem is the older we get the wider our comfort zones gets so we stop taking those chances.
Too bad because isn't it exciting when you reach for that goal that IS difficult and accomplish it?

Of course the older you get the more you have to take " calculated " risks.
What does that mean?
Well don't do anything that can upset your golden years but if you are trying to improve your life or the life of others at least take the time to contemplate it.
Weigh your risk and your options, ask some people you trust possibly for advise.
Gather it all up and go for it, nothing ventured- nothing gained.

Good rule

If you live by One business rule alone you will succeed-
Treat it like your own-

Rather it is moving furniture or working in the office- TREAT IT LIKE YOUR OWN.

If you approach each day and each assignment as if it was your goods and your money you would treat it with the care and the attention that it deserves.

Too many people do not care unless it effects them or effects their pocket but in actuality if they used this one rule throughout they would not have to worry about their pockets because it will all take care of itself. It is all relevant and we are ALL connected.

Trust me..when you slow down and look at that person in front of you and take the time to care it will come back to you ten fold.

TREAT IT LIKE YOUR OWN

Meet Your President of Arpin Van Lines

I sat down with David Arpin, President of Arpin Van Lines, and had a casual conversation on how Arpin was started and when he got involved.

 

Being a past driver himself, he has plenty of stories. We also talked a bit about the philosophy and goals of the van line. I think you will appreciate his honesty and sincerity.

 

Every week, I will be releasing a different video and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

 

Here is the first video in the series of “Meet Your President”:

 

Arpin Origins - https://youtu.be/O8wEy0tsnJ0

 

"Send 'Em On Down The Road"

Being a parent is the hardest most rewarding job you will ever have..





"Send 'Em On Down The Road"

He didn't ask. He didn't pry
He just held the ice that covered my black eye
And when that girl broke my heart
We just threw that baseball back and forth 'til dark
And when I started playin' guitar and didn't have a clue
He wanted to protect me but somehow my father knew

You can cry for 'em
Live and die for 'em
You can help them find their wings
But you can't fly for 'em
'Cause if they're not free to fall
Then they're not free at all
And though you just can't
Bear the thought of letting go
You pick 'em up. you dust 'em off
You send 'em on down the road

A little kiss on a skinned up knee
From playin' soccer, riding bikes and climbing trees
And when bad dreams filled their heads
I chased the monsters out from underneath their beds
I guess I always knew those days would end
But the hardest thing I've ever learned has been

You can cry for 'em
Live and die for 'em
You can help them find their wings
But you can't fly for 'em
'Cause if they're not free to fall
Then they're not free at all
And though you just can't
Bear the thought of letting go
You pick 'em up, you dust 'em off
You send 'em on down the road

You can cry for 'em
Live and die for 'em
And even though it's gonna break your heart
You let 'em go. You pick 'em up, you dust 'em off
You hold 'em close and you pray a lot
You send 'em on down the road

Emotions

 

Beware allowing emotions to unduly influence your decisions. Emotions and big, complex decisions do not mix.

They either motivate a rush to judgment or slow our process down to a crawl. When we are feeling pressured, our logical brain is in the background while the rest of our gray matter works overtime to figure out how to move beyond the stress.

Guidance: If the situation is emotionally turbocharged, resist the rush to decide and step back and gain some help in looking at the problem and options objectively. Use the tools outlined below to help reframe and assess your options and expectations.

"Working Class Hero"

"Working Class Hero"- by John Lennon

As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
'Til the pain is so big you feel nothing at all

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
'Til you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for 20 odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function, you're so full of fear

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion, and sex, and T.V.
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me

 

Nay Sayers

There will always be Nay Sayers in your life.
IGNORE THEM

Some people wake up negative and talking negative and then they are surprised that positive things do not happen in their life's.

It's quality thoughts that make a quality life, and you can CHOOSE those at any moment.

I know it sounds easy and hokey especially when your bills are piling up and medical issues arise with you or a loved one but I absolutely believe that positive thoughts breeds positive.

We ALL have bad things going on all around us every day- how you choose to address the day is totally up to you. Lots of things are out of our control but how we approach the day and the people around us are absolutely and totally in our control.

Do not fall into the negative trap - think for yourself and live by the golden rule and you will feel better and it will come back to you ten fold.

Lend a deaf ear to the Nay Sayers , they simply are looking for a crowd to help push them to where THEY want to go.
Concentrate on you and your life and your family -

Organize

The key to profit and less stress is to organize.

Organize your day, your goals , your future.

That can simply mean scribbling down notes and prioritizing and most important following up.
The more you can organize and be ready the less surprises you will have.
Start off with simple goals and then underneath write how you go about achieving them.

Think out your day and the next day and the coming week.
Prepare, prepare, prepare.
always have a plan " B" and " C" - you will need them.

Have short range goals and a 5 or 8 year goal.
Where to you see yourself in 5 years and how can you get there?

Organize your thoughts and organize your day and organize your life.
If you don't - who will?

Fight the Fight

Fight the good fight

What is the good fight ?

What is YOUR fight ?

People are always trying to get you to follow them, they appeal to your anger and what is wrong .
Should you jump on board?
Is THAT your good fight?

Who can know what is right for you and what is it YOU should be spending your time and energy fighting.. only you know what is important enough in your life to do that.
We have so little time in a day, in a week in a life- what should you spend your precious time on?

I assume we all want a better life, a life where can find the inner child again and that time in our life when we did not have so many " Have to's " and responsibility.
Ultimately shouldn't that be our goal?
To simplify and enjoy each day, every moment.
It is different for each of us- so I guess the question is what makes YOU happy ?

Consistency is important.

From another business blog-


Consistency is important.

Most of us understand that consistency is important in any business. So that customers or clients have confidence in the goods and services provided, businesses must offer consistent quality and service. Take a simple example – I’m sure almost everyone has a favorite restaurant.

 Mine is Ping Pong Dim Sum, on London’s Southbank (in case you were wondering, and feel like taking me for dinner). It’s my favorite, because not only is the food delicious – but it’s always delicious, every time I go. It’s my favorite, because not only is the service great – but it’s always great. It’s my favorite, because not only do the cocktails taste great – but they always taste great. I like going there because I can guarantee, regardless of when I go, who I go with, or what I order, it’s going to be consistently good. Think about your own favorite restaurant – it’s probably your favorite for similar reasons.

Without the ability to offer this consistent service, customers will simply go looking elsewhere to have their needs met.

Express Confidence

Express Confidence —

 People want to perform well for a manager they know has confidence in them. Just think of your best boss. Chances are the person had confidence and faith in your abilities. Your best boss probably built your self-confidence, expressed enthusiasm for your accomplishments, and gave you just the right amount of direction and support you needed to accomplish your goals.

 Don’t underestimate the power that exists in expressing confidence and belief in someone.

Everyone wants to feel like they matter and are important to others