Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee
A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee…You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again. A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen.. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled...
Read MoreMore Than I Ever Imagined.
I’ve been alluding to the changes and streamlining taking place in my company’s structure lately – all great things. Much needed and long overdue. Beyond the necessity of them just for the sake of time or more money, the real purpose has been to make room for my next big thing. Which begins today. {insert giant smiley face} About 11 years ago I met a 19 year old genius, girl-wonder, Warren Buffet in-training, named Kendra Kinnison. Those monikers don’t even do her justice, really. She was a CPA and was finishing her MBA – the youngest one ever from Texas A&M Corpus Christi, in fact. She helped me launch Crossover Consulting. My family moved to California and we lost touch for a while, but we reconnected at a Social ...
Read MoreSkywriting is Not Good Social Marketing – Knock it Off.
Image via Wikipedia A local church here in town is having a huge promotional event this weekend, and is giving away millions of dollars of stuff to lure draw people in this Easter weekend. I have strong feelings about the subject and despite those strong feelings I’ve tried to live and let live, so to speak. I get the premise, but I think it’s misguided and sends the total wrong message that pandering to people’s base need to covet things is a good marketing hook. But I digress. I really don’t want to hate on the church so let’s just set those aside for a moment and stay on topic. Which is this: Social Marketing is just that. Social. It’s not you with a bullhorn blasting me from no less than 5 accounts on Facebook and a...
Read MoreSpring Cleaning – Business Style
Image by jaymzg via Flickr Soon you’ll hear me blather on about some new mis-adventures… er… adventures… er ventures that I’m embarking on in business. It’s a little scary – outside my comfort zone of the travel industry. I’m excited. Very excited. More on the specifics when they’re nailed down. In the meantime… Back in January my Mastermind Group, which is like a personal board of directors, helped me realize that I needed to jettison some of the more unprofitable aspects of my business. After a lot of soul searching, and a ton of reading Tim Ferriss’ “The Four Hour Workweek” again… and again… and the E-Myth series of books, I decided those smart, talented,...
Read MorePerception
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule. 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist...
Read MoreI Am Pretty Freakin’ Sick of This.
Image by portorikan via Flickr Cancer Sucks. It’s a battle-cry of the mighty group of committed volunteers I work with on the Relay for Life committee but it was also for the better part of five years the thought that woke me in the morning, and knocked me out at night. Statistically, it’s probable that you know someone with, or affected by cancer. There’s no Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon here – you probably have one degree at best. This disease is no respecter of race, age, maritial status or parentage. It kills mommies, babies and sweet old ladies that have never done anything to anyone. My degree of separation is one. I have never been diagnosed, but I have lost more loved ones to this disease than anyone should have to bear....
Read More2009 – Extreme Life Makeover. 2010 – What’s Next?
WOW. 2009 is gone. I’m sure everyone is tired of the constant break-downs and analysis of the year in terms of business and finances, as well as Jon & Kate, Kanye & Taylor, New Moon and the other ongoing drama around the country. I know I am. Personally, 2009 has to go down as the worst year ever – at least the first half. At the end of the day I can point to a lot of external factors, but if I’m being honest it comes down to a lot of emotional burnout, coupled with my own lack of “get off your butt and fix this” syndrome. It’s just that simple. If anyone reading this ends up writing a book on the perils and pitfalls of caring for a dying loved one, I’m your poster child. It almost cost me my marriage and health....
Read More