BIGGER Impact Newsletter

Laurie Joslin

2009-12-07T18:05:00.003-05:00

I met Laurie for the first time a few years ago at a Ken Blanchard event in Rochester sponsored by the Entrepreneur’s Organization – Western New York. On behalf of EO-WNY, she introduced Ken. I was immediately intrigued by her vibrance and sense of humor. Since then, I’ve participated as often as possible in sales and workforce trainings put on by her company, Unlimited Coaching Solutions. Laurie and her team are tremendous models of the strategies they teach. As a successful business owner, middle child of 14, and single mother of one, Jade, Laurie’s story is simply fantastic. It is an honor to feature, Laurie, a woman who I consider my friend and colleague, in this final issue of Bigger Impact Weekly. ~Joseph

I’d like to start with your experience as a single mother. As a successful business owner, I’m interested to hear how this life choice has affected your journey.

As you know, I’m very independent. I was still in college when I was set to have Jade. My high school sweetheart and I were together and it was a cute story, but we didn’t agree on a lot of things. Although we were together for a long time, I knew that it wasn’t going to work. Long story short, Jade was in 2^nd grade when we split.

We all are on our own life path and we all need to learn different ways. I respect that we have our different views of the world. If I looked back at the relationships that haven’t “worked” for me, I can truly say that through all of them – whether they were significant other, friends, or with clients – I’ve learned so much from them. I truly appreciate the fact that I wouldn’t be who I am right now without those experiences.

Everyone has their own stuff going on. And, it’s not that I don’t believe in marriage, it’s just that I think marriage is a very antiquated approach because people change! Divorce is a new beginning for a lot of people.

It has been really interesting to raise a child as a single parent. I came from a blended family with 14 children. I had seen a lot going on in terms of communication and relationships. One of the reasons I chose to be a single mother, I saw a lot of damage happen from two parents staying together that shouldn’t have necessarily been together.

I felt like I had a better chance this way. And, growing up, Jade spent time with her father during high school and she really excelled. If it was just about me, I would never have let her go, but it was about her.

Let’s move on to your career path…

I grew up in Cortland, New York. While I was there I worked for Smith Corona for a long time…starting on the factory line. I was a single mother, getting my degree at the same time. I really got to experience all different types of jobs throughout that organization. I worked in Accounting while we went through a Chapter 11, and I spent time in Human Resources and on the sales force. At one point, I went on the Shop at Home Network for them.

Oddly enough, none of these moves were really planned. In fact, with the Shop at Home Network, nobody really wanted to do it, but I was always willing to just jump in and do something new. I had no training but I did it and I loved it!

To be uncomfortable to me was fun. It was learning. Little did I know at the time that this type of workforce development would be my eventual field.

When I started in school I was going to be an English teacher. But, because I was working at the same time, I got more interested in business so I switched to economics.

Then I met with a career counselor at Cortland who helped me discover that one of my core competencies was communication. So, I started taking communications classes and I totally loved it. Even Media Law!

Luckily, I got so many opportunities at Smith Corona. Many of my moves throughout the company were lateral, just to keep my job while the company restructured. Once, I inquired about a product development job and when I did, the coordinator gave me a manual and said, “Go home, read this, and give us a presentation on it tomorrow.” So, I did it and I really wowed them!

From that point, I moved quickly from product development to software to soft skills. And, when I found soft skills I absolutely fell in love.

I founded the training development program at Smith Corona and created a whole university of courses for them. I brought people in and created courses myself – not realizing what an opportunity that was at the time. It was like, “Hey Laurie, we need to do this but we have no budget. Can you help us?” That experience proved to be so valuable to me.

When Smith Corona was filing Chapter 11 for the second time, I could see the writing on the wall. So, I went in to see the CFO who I had worked for in the past, closed the door, and requested to get the courses I developed. Long story short, I got them and I got to start my business with a lot of intellectual property.

I’ve been inspired by some awesome people like Ken Blanchard and I consider myself really just a messenger. I have unique and creative ways of delivering that message, but if you go way back, in my opinion, people are saying the same stuff.

Please, walk me through the experience of starting the business!

In 1999, after a brief stint with Comp USA Training, I started Unlimited Coaching Solutions.

When I first started my business, I went from a very good salary to nothing. And, I’m the kind of person that jumps off a cliff then looks…so I had minimal savings. I knew that I wanted to do this so I went out there and did it. I’ve always trusted my ability to come out ok.

Jade was about 12 at the time. I was ripping her out of school, moving to Rochester, and I didn’t know a soul. It was crazy. We learn the best by throwing ourselves into a new job or new experience like that though. In fact, 70 percent of learning comes from that.

I did not have the road map when I started, but I was clear. It started with just me and slowly we built up to 6 at one point and now we’re back to 4 employees. The company has been pretty natural and fluent.

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is a huge part of what we do now and that happened through Ray Justice. In early 2000, he was a mentor and coach of mine. I was speaking to him at one point and I said, “I get this training thing but something is missing.” He said to me, “I just finished this book and I don’t know why, but you need to read it.” I trusted him so of the 10 books in my “to read” pile, this one went to the top.

And, as I read it, I had a movie playing in my mind of how exactly it would fit into what I was doing. It was amazing. So, I started down the path of contacting the author about using it in my training. He put me in touch with the publisher and they gave me permission to use it!

Miguel Ruiz, Jr., don Miguel Ruiz, & Laurie (Left to right)

How has The Four Agreements impacted your life?

At that point I began to participate in their trainings. Me being all business, I thought I was going to learn how to apply these materials in the workplace but it ended up touching my life in a very personal way. My life dramatically changed.

My relationship with my father improved. It was never bad, but I was the middle child of 14 so I got lost in the shuffle a little bit!

He is a self-employed carpenter and he was in Rochester working on a special job at the time so I let him stay at my house. He saw the book on my coffee table and said, “What is this?” I said, “Just read it…and if you want to discuss it, I’ll spend the entire weekend with you.” Now, I was single at the time so this was a big deal!

He read it and he said to me, “Wow, if I read this earlier I never would have needed Prozac!” My father is a Veteran. This experience started a whole new relationship between us with a common interest!

If you can help people be successful in their relationships with people, the workplace benefits. It’s really just a venue to reach people with the message. It’s all just empowering people to make a difference. To me empowering is a mix of inspiration and the resources to act.

Tell me about how you got started with the EO-WNY?

I got started with EO-WNY by a great guy, Ralph Dandria, a partner of ITX. I was at a party and we got talking. He wanted some training and he said, “Wow, you’d be a great candidate for EO!” Right away people were so generous. And, generosity to me is an attractive thing. That is EO for sure. One of our major objectives is to provide the best learning opportunities possible not only for members, but for the community as well.

It’s an organization that truly wants to help entrepreneurs grow.

Tell me more about your training packages.

Something else that I’d like to share with you is the concept that we’re using in our business. It’s a concept we call “GRIT.” It stands for “Generosity, Respect, Integrity, and Truth.”

Those are the core of what it takes for authenticity as a human being. These things drive human relationships. GRIT happens to work well because the American way is toughness. That speaks to so many people!

I’m writing a book which is half done right now and the working title is something relative to “Getting your GRIT together.” It’s about creating a workplace that people want to be at! We want to spread the word!

We take everything that we do experientially and we change that to fit into different organizations. We do not change the flow of the material, but we do change the language and some of the activities involved. Remember, I consider myself a messenger, or a translator. I tailor the information to connect with accountants, lawyers, or construction people!

A lot of training companies will specialize in an industry, but we don’t do that. We’re specialists in people. That is our philosophy. The Four Agreements is one differentiator and customizing our message across industry is definitely unique in our marketplace. The real impact you need to make in an organization is on an individual level. We help people see what’s in it for them.

The best part about this stuff to me is that you’re never going to master it. We’re constantly learning, so the more we can lighten up and have fun with it, the better off we’re going to be! Fun is a core value of mine!

CONTACT LAURIE:

ljoslin@unlimitedcoaching.com

Hannah Morgan

2009-12-07T17:52:00.003-05:00

Hannah is an energetic Career Sherpa, guiding unemployed individuals into new career fields. She is employed at Rochester Works doing just that. Her year old blog, Career Sherpa, carries her daily updated articles to help people on their job search. No matter where you are in your career, check it out! http://hannahmorgan.typepad.com/ ~Ben

When I started there were five people reading my blog. Now I am at over 13,000 hits. Blogging is really fun for me; I was on vacation for a week and went through blog withdrawal.
I get to put in writing all of the things that bother me about job seekers. Unfortunately I have found that they are often so detached about what is going on in the real world.

I tell people, if you are unemployed and need new clothing, you should not be purchasing new clothing; you should go to Salvation Army. There was one unemployed gentleman who had not had a job interview in years. He recently lost forty pounds so he did not fit into his old suits anymore. He was planning on just wearing a shirt and tie to interviews. Things like this happen all of the time. To me, it seems like a no brainer to ask a friend for a suit or to go to Salvation Army. This is one example of how people are so detached that they are not thinking properly in the job search.

Where did you start out?

I grew up in Connecticut and went to school at Ohio Wesleyan. I had one of those really desirable majors; Humanities with a concentration in Ancient Greece and Rome. See how it prepared me for the world! It was the greatest four years of my life.

What about your family?

I have two boys, they are seven and five. The boys are a workout. However, my husband is a great father.

You are involved in a lot of other things...

I am writing for the Democrat and Chronicle. I have space on the Her Rochester blog and every week one of my articles is in the newspaper. My work is also published on JobSafe.com. http://www.herrochester.com/ , http://www.thejobsafe.com/

Beyond the writing, I am the Vice President of programs for the Genesee Valley Chapter of ASTD which stands for the American Society for Training and Development. Every month we put on a program, and I oversee the program. I spent my whole life doing nothing before all of this, and now I am completely over committed.

How do you go about the process of finding someone a job?

Primarily I deliver workshops with people. I encourage self assessment. You can’t properly look for a job until you know what you bring to the table. That is a step that people rarely ever take.

This whole search process needs to be proactive not reactive these days. Most jobs are happening back door, not by applying with a resume traditionally. Good companies are always looking for their next hire. If I am talking to you, and I find out you are really great at marketing or great at networking, I will file that away in my brain, because I may have a need for that in my company six months from now.

In order to find a job, you need to start not by developing a resume, but by developing a target list of companies. Then you need to begin to create relationships with people inside of those companies. You don’t send in a resume to the HR office, you have a cup of coffee with one of the leaders within the organization and introduce yourself. Business owners are always looking for the next opportunity. If you frame yourself as an opportunity, you will be hired. If you understand their business, understand what their problems are, and understand how to deal with those problems, they will be silly not to listen to you.

They do not teach that to you when you go to school.

Networking is not a course in college.

Everyone who has been laid off from Kodak knows so many other people who they used to work with at Kodak. When you ask these people “Who do you know?” They say, “I don’t have any friends.” Are you kidding me?

Job seekers need to figure out what the businesses problems are for the company they want to be in, and how they can solve those problems. Then, they need to communicate how they can be valuable to that business. That is all about sales skills, which unfortunately we are not teaching to our kids. They need to know how to sell well. Once you get a job you have to be able to sell your opinion to your colleagues, your boss. People who can sell are much more successful, they know the power and nuances of relationships.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

I would like to say that the most rewarding part is to find people jobs, however that takes so long to happen. The most rewarding part of my work is watching someone understand “it,” being able to take this job search away on their own.

People respond to different methods of teaching. I am sort of “no nonsense, take it or leave it” kind of person. This is what it is.... I am moving on to someone else if you don’t want to understand it.

I typically see 60 to 90 people a day because there are a lot of unemployed people out there right now.

When do you wake up every morning? You emailed me at 4:30 this morning.

I wake up at 4 AM. It used to be 5am, and then I got into Twitter, so now it is 4am. A lot of my time after hours is spent doing stuff with my kids, carting them around, so I do work in the morning.

You live in Canandaigua. How do you like it?

It is a great community. I belong to the Congregational Church in Canandaigua. They nominated me to be a Vice Moderator. This is a nice title, and I get to go to the council meetings. I have lived here for fifteen or so years. We are transplants from other parts of the country. My husband was an airline pilot for a while, and I worked in Rochester, so we were never really in the in-crowd of Canandaigua’s community until recently as our kids became more involved. Now that we are more involved in the community we are loving it even more.

Why Rochester?

The quality of life here is great. Where is there a better place to raise a family? It’s easy to get around compared to other cities. It is a bit rainy and snowy, but not very bad.

What about goals?

I want to be the Suze Orman of Careers.

One of the challenges I am facing right now is that I am working forty hours a week at Rochester Works and spending a lot of time doing my Career Sherpa work outside of those forty hours. And, I have kids! It’s tough to do everything that I want to do.

What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?

I am innovative. It allows me to look at problems differently.
My greatest weakness is that I am not very good at asking questions. I sometimes make assumptions. When I am talking to a job seeker, I am usually asking it under certain assumptions. I come to the table with my own pre conceived notions and biases.

When do you read?

I mostly read blogs online. When I do my night reading, I just read fun stuff. I am not a really good reader, but I read at least two books a month.

Are you a big caffeine person?

I am a caffeine girl. By noon I am on my third diet coke. My stomach is probably going to rot and fall out.

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

An archaeologist. It was not a very practical type of job so that did not happen.

You are a big Twitter user. If you could “Tweet” anything, what would it be?

Know what value you bring to the employer, cast a wide net, keep your options open and never stop networking.

Most memorable person you have ever met?

My dad was the most influential in my life. He taught me all of the important lessons of life. He is one of the most important people in my life. I have a huge host of mentors; Rita Carey, Pat Piles, DeeDee Dutcher, Rosa Smith Montanaro, Mike Lally, and many more. They are all mentoring a different part of my life.

If you could meet anyone, who?

Oprah. I would love to know what she knows. She has done a lot of great stuff.

If you could say any words of wisdom to all of Western NY, what would it be?

Besides the fact that WNY is a great place to live and work, I would love people to really take the time to appreciate the innovation that is happening. There are some really cool startups, and uses of technology and cutting edge science happening in WNY. The future of our region depends upon the innovation and growth of these up and coming companies. Changing that mindset from big to small is very important.

What is your definition of success?

Success is making a difference in people’s lives.

Train Your Brain

2009-12-07T17:29:00.004-05:00

Alex Hillis is a 2009 SUNY Geneseo Graduate and currently employed with Ben at St. Pauly Textiles Inc. He is also a founder of dropStatic Newsletter, Rochester's Source for music information.

How to Be Happy on Purpose

By: Alex Hillis

Let’s face it: life doesn’t always go the way we want it to. Really, if you think of all the times that you picked the wrong thing to say, or you couldn’t make a ham sandwich because someone ate your ham (uncool), it seems like more often than not things don’t go the way you planned them.

This is how you deal with your wild and rapidly changing environment: you lay the best plans you can think of at the time, execute those plans the best that you can in the face of uncertainty, and then tally up your wins and losses at the end of the day to see whether or not you should feel happy or morbidly depressed. I suppose this is a very rational way to look at life, particularly if we can eliminate feelings all together.

Unfortunately something inevitably occurs in people’s minds. They tally up their wins and losses, and then multiply the losses by two, or perhaps ten. Deep down people cannot bear to make mistakes, and the sweetest success cannot compete with the simplest failure for attention. If you think about it, this is the attitude that spawns couch potatoes (success isn’t worth the potential failure), workaholics (I’m not successful enough in the face of my failures), and even filthy rich depressives (my success means nothing in the end, but I sure can think of a lot of reasons why deep down I’m still a failure).

If you assume, like I do, that this is an inherent part of human psychology (or at least American psychology!), then what can you do to combat this negative force of the mind? You have to think of it in terms of the emotions that are created from your relative successes and failures. (Note: if you can change your emotional responses for the better, an increase in positive attitude and measurable success will follow).

“But I can’t really control my emotions!” It is true. You can’t force yourself to feel happy. You can’t say, “I just got an average evaluation on my end of term report, when I badly wanted to be considered exceptional- but I’ll just be happy all the same.” You can pretend to be happy, but inside your prison you still feel the crush of disappointment, and the panic of insufficiency.

By the same token, no matter what you do, you can’t always create events and circumstances that elicit the emotion that you desire. If so, you would be perfect, and have God-like powers.
What you can do is adjust to the transition between what happens and how you feel about it. I really don’t want to rehash the glass half-empty, glass half-full metaphor, so I will cut the philosophy, and go straight to the solutions.

These are things that I do to be happy on purpose, and focus my mind on things that make me feel positive:

1. Sometimes I suffer insomnia because I lie awake at night dwelling on things that worry me. As soon as I realize that I am dwelling, I turn the lights on, get out of bed, and turn on the TV to a program that is innocent and positive, like the cooking channel, or national geographic. Even if I have to get up early and it’s late at night, I have discovered that I have to lose myself like this for a while and reset my emotions in order to fall asleep.

2. Whenever anybody asks me if I want to do something that they want to do, I do it! Every single time I have ever been ‘tired’, and then bit the bullet and agreed to go along to a show, or to engage in a project, I have been very glad that I did so.
Chances are, if you feel like chilling out and your friend is suggesting something that at the moment seems unappealing, you are suffering from a weary emotional state, and your sense of adventure is being overtaken by the failures and negative emotions you have accumulated throughout the day. In fact, the last thing you need is to sit around by yourself. What you really need is a fresh environment and a fresh attitude, and maybe even a beer.

3. In the past I have many times become very angry at the people that I love. As a result I am very unhappy. Often when this occurs, I actively try to remember times when I appreciated something that they did, or saw a side of them that was really wonderful. Whenever I can remember something like that, I find my emotions slipping from anger to forgiveness, which is one of the greatest emotional releases a person can experience.

These are just a few ways in which I have trained myself to be happy on purpose. Many people have different ways of actively changing their attitudes.

Networking: Cultivation of Opportunity

2009-12-07T17:18:00.005-05:00

By: Denyel Beiter

Editors Note: Denyel Beiter is a 2009 SUNY Geneseo graduate. She is currently employed at the True Community Development Corporation in Buffalo as the Americorps Vista. She was the president of Democracy Matters at SUNY Geneseo.

One of the most important characteristics that we each possess as part of the human race is the ability to connect with each other on an intimate level. This is what separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. The ability to build relationships and to feel united with one another allows us to feel bigger than ourselves, to feel like a part of something, and most importantly, it allows us to be shaped and molded into someone we never dreamed we could be.

One of the most important lessons I have learned in the first few months of my career is the significance and impact of networking. By networking and establishing relationships, we find a little of ourselves in others. We can rely upon these relationships as steps to different opportunities in our personal and professional lives. This is not to suggest that we use each other solely for our own benefit, but to merely extract and reciprocate goodwill and community.

As I write this article I think of this past week when I had an epiphany about the significance of networking. I work in a non-profit organization in inner-city Buffalo where I help to run a job readiness program. A major component to the program is teaching the importance of networking. One young man in particular, who comes from a low income neighborhood, has been in and out of jail, and is unemployed, took advantage of a networking opportunity right away. After telling him my experience with working on job readiness initiatives and skills, he became wild eyed and set up an appointment with me so that I could council him on writing his very first resume.

He came into the office on time and ready to work. We worked together and collaborated ideas and information that needed to get across to an employer. I taught him the basic structure and detailed tips of a resume. He taught me that by helping others and building relationships we can truly change lives. He began to cry, hug me, and tell me that he could not believe that someone would help him and take the time to care for him. His eyes widened and he said, “Now I have an opportunity. Now I have a future.”

Author and public speaker, Bob Burg describes networking as “the cultivating of mutually beneficial, give and take, win-win relationships. It works best, however, when emphasizing the 'give' part."

I challenge all readers to keep networking. Whether it is for personal or professional reasons, we are human and we are here to interact, encourage, and motivate each other. When we collaborate, our ideas and output can transcend expectations and goals. We all have gifts to share as well as room for improvement.

Jerry Grundman

2009-07-18T12:47:00.002-05:00

Jerry is president and publisher of Spiritus Media, producers of the Rochester based magazine, Connecting Rochester. Its mission is to help businesses connect, collaborate and grow in Rochester, New York. It is distributed to Rochester area chamber of commerce members, and is currently on its third monthly issue. I write a column for the magazine, and have enjoyed getting to know Jerry and seeing him build his magazine. He is a great family man and WNY personality. Look forward to more publications by Spiritus Media. Check out connectingrochester.com and keep an eye out for the magazine around Rochester! ~Ben DeGeorge

This last issue went very well. We got a lot of great feedback, emails, comments, and people calling me. We also really turned around on sales. We doubled our advertising sales from the first to second issue. The first issue, people read it, set it aside and did not realize what it was exactly, that they were going to receive it every week. The second issue more people realized that this was a normal, monthly thing. This third issue will be huge.

Tell me about your back story.

I grew up in Webster, NY. I went to grade school at Holy Trinity School, a catholic school. I went to Bishop Kearney High School for two years. Now we have our kids going to school there. After high school I worked for five years in the restaurant business as manager and bartender. It gives you that direct one on one experience with customers, with immediate feedback. This honed my customer service skills. I met my wife when I was pretty young. We were both 21 and she was just finishing college. Shortly after that we had our first kid. My oldest is now 24. In fact, tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary.

How old are your children?

My son is 24. I have a daughter who is 20 and a daughter who is 16. Our youngest is a boy and is 13.

How did you get to the point of producing Connecting Rochester.

For the last ten years I was with Messenger Post Media. I started as a reporter for a year and then there was an opening in the sales department, so I went there. I did a pretty good job and became a sales manager. Then, I spent the last couple of years there as the Director of Advertising.

We had a lot of success with working on special publications, supplements to the paper. We had success with that because we started meeting with and reaching out to a lot of organizations all over the greater Rochester area and talking about their needs and what types of things they wanted to see. From that, we began to produce a lot of niche products that met the needs of the organizations we were working with. A publication would often be geared towards an event, as an example, the festivals during the summer. It was not so much coming up with a section that people would want to read or advertise in, but finding an organization and collaborating with them on a project. That is the parallel to what we are doing now with Connecting Rochester.

Connecting Rochester is an offshoot of that, working with organizations like the Chambers of Commerce or small businesses to try to find something that might take care of their needs. There are a lot of great Chamber leaders who we have been able to help by providing our publication for their businesses. It is an added value piece for being a member of the chamber.

Where did the idea come from?

I really wanted it to be something that would engage the readers. The content is smoking and people are excited to read it. For this reason, organizations want to advertise in it. We wanted to create something geared towards small to medium sized businesses. All of the content is geared towards them. We have gotten a lot of good feedback. People have said that we are filling a need.

How does it feel to be an entrepreneur? What are the best and worst parts of that?

You are entering the lifestyle of an entrepreneur. You are pretty much off relying upon your own efforts and abilities to succeed. I believe that the best way to do this is to connect and collaborate with as many people as possible to help your idea grow. That is what I always enjoyed about my job in the years before. Now, as an entrepreneur, I am able to do that and do it in the way that I think is right. There is a lot more risk involved, sure, and that is probably the most fearful part, however it is just another challenge you are going to have to deal with. Being a small business owner for the first time, I have a whole new respect for business owners.

It is amazing once you become an entrepreneur how people now begin to reach out to you, to help you succeed. There is a real community of entrepreneurs out there who want to help each other. And honestly, that is the most welcome surprise.

Even though the economy is not in the greatest shape, there are opportunities. When things change, opportunities are created.

What is your vision with the magazine?

I hope that on its own it becomes a great guide for small to medium business owners. This is really the first publication in what we hope will be many publications with my company, Spiritus Media Group. We intend to continue to seek out more organizations in the greater Rochester area and find out what more we can do to collaborate and produce publications that are tailored toward niche audiences.

This magazine is read by influential people, people who are out talking to other people all of the time.

One of the other things that we do besides the publications is that we are a reseller for a website designer company, SiteBrandBuilder. It is an incredible piece of technology, giving you the ability to build your own website, maintain and change it without having to know any kind of code. They really have a great spirit in that they are trying to give people the opportunity to do things with their websites on their own.

What do you do in your free time? I know you are exceptionally busy. Maybe you count free time as a meal every once in a while...

Most of that is taken up with being part of my kid’s lives. They are involved in lots of things and we have always been involved in what they are involved in. I am serving as the President of the Parents’ Association at Bishop Kearney. It is a great institution that I am very proud of.

I also love golfing. I am not a good golfer, but I love being out on the course. That to me is something to be able to do more of at some point. I also love reading great books.

Favorite books?

I have recently been reading a lot of Dr. Wayne Dyer. He is absolutely fascinating. I just started reading The Shack by William T. Young. I just sat down and started it.

What is your secret to success in mobilizing people to work for you? You have assembled quite a team in a very short period of time to help you produce, edit, publish, and contribute and write columns for the magazine. How do you make that happen?

It is not a secret. You are only as good as your people. I have found lots of incredible people. That is the cool thing about being an entrepreneur... you only work with people you want to work with. You don’t have to work with people you don’t want to. I get to share time at work with good people I enjoy being around.

I have realized that if you treat people well, only good things will come from that. You get in return what you give to others.

There are now a lot of people who want to contribute! It’s amazing. We show people what we want to do and ask them to contribute whatever they think they can contribute. The columnists have been doing a great job. They are writing about something that has to do with their experience, making them able to connect better with readers.

You read the papers every day and hear bad news all of the time, and you hear the reasons why you can’t do all sorts of things. We want people to finish reading this magazine and feel inspired to push through, knowing that they can succeed in whatever the economy is. We want to keep focused on that. We will be covering stories of people who have had some real challenges; however, we are trying to keep it positive.

There was a magazine around for a while called Business Strategies which was similar to what we are doing. We have heard a lot of positive feedback from their former readers.

What have been the most memorable moments of this process so far?

I guess it would have been the first time that we went to the printers and ended with the actual hard copy in our hands. That was kind of exciting. However, the second one might have been even more exciting.

How many hours every week are you working?

It’s probably better not to count. Because then I would have to figure out my hourly wage...

I am working from home, we don’t have a set office. People say you need to keep your work separate from home, and it is very hard to work from home because everything blends together. But, that can be fun also.
How is the family handling the whole process?
They are handling it just great. My oldest is getting involved and doing a little bit with the website and is starting to get out doing sales for us also.

What is your advice to Western NY? Everyone is feeling heat from the recession. How should they handle it?

It is not as bad as you think it is. It’s just not. If you really think it is bad, it will be. We need a lot more people out there trumpeting all of the good things that are going on. You need to associate with positive people who know that you can succeed. Find people like that to hang around with. The economy is what it is, and there are some things you can’t do now, but focus on the things you can do. Find people who have hope, regardless of how things are turning out right now.

What about words of advice to people who are deciding to become entrepreneurs? You decided to make a huge career change in starting your publishing company, a choice not many would be willing to make.

In looking back there are a lot of things I would have done better, started out being better capitalized. However, sometimes you just have to trust your own instincts, and make a move right now. You can’t wait until everything is perfect to do something. Like we were talking about earlier, with the changes in the economy people have to ask themselves; Is this truly what I want to do.

Ask yourself, what do I want to spend eight to twelve hours of my day doing. If you can find it and start doing whatever it is, you will be happy.

Everybody says, get a safe job. I don’t know if there are safe jobs anymore.

And here is good advice for someone who is thinking about leaving their job. Before they leave, they should go through the process of actually starting their own company. It is pretty easy to incorporate and get a bank account set up. Just going through that process you learn so much, and when the opportunity opens up to start your own business, you will be ahead of the game in order to jump on it quicker.

People are probably contacting you all of the time now with different ideas and different opportunities related to your magazine. How do you sift through it all?
That has been another benefit to all of this. Lots of people have contacted me who are very interested in the magazine. I have gained more friends in the community since I started this in the beginning of the year than in the ten years at Messenger Post Media. Also, it is tough to pick and choose who the subjects for the magazine are. We can only fit in four subjects a month, so we will never run out of material.

Where is the distribution right now?

We are distributing to Monroe County Chambers of Commerce and we are expanding all over the greater Rochester area.

Anything else?

I’d like to ask for feedback on the magazine. If people could just send a quick email on what their thoughts are, the good, the bad and the ugly. We are only going to succeed by improving. We are not doing this in isolation! We get feedback from a lot of people and always appreciate it!

Jerry’s email address is jerry@connectingrochester.com

Check out connectingrochester.com and keep an eye out for the magazine.

Tom Turner

2009-07-02T22:16:00.002-05:00

Tom has an incredibly inspiring story of tenacious toughness. Please read! -Ben

What is your story?

I was born with Spina Bifida. It’s a birth defect where the spinal column fails to develop properly. It is where there is an incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube. Some vertebra overlying the spinal cord are not fully formed and remain unfused and open.

I am paralyzed from the waist down. I use a wheel chair and leg braces to get around. I have had 19 operations, and having dodged that bullet I have been able to live a full life. I graduated from Victor High School in 1990 and Finger Lakes Community College. I work for my family business now, Turner Automotive based in Victor, New York.

After Graduating with an Associate’s Degree of Arts and Science in Humanities with a concentration in Broadcast Communications, I initially wanted to go into the radio business. I am good friends with the local radio personality, Brother Wheeze. However, that did not work out because it is a very competitive environment, and I neither had the time nor inclination to pursue it. My father asked me to join the family business, and the rest is history... here I am!

How do you define success?

Success to me is being respected by and respecting people. Knowing that at the end of the day I gave my best, whether it is in the work environment or dealing with my family or my friends. I can go to bed at night satisfied knowing that I have the respect and love of my friends and family.

What was going through your mind once you got to your 19th surgery?

“How do I get through this?” I worried about my family. Once you get to that point, you do whatever it takes, whatever is needed to get through. You go into survival mode. The last surgery I had was in 1998.

If you could give any words of advice to all of Western NY, what would it be?

Be tenacious. No matter what you want to do, go after it and be tenacious. Seize every opportunity that you can, realize that within reason, there is nothing you can’t do. I have realized the importance of tenacity after overcoming so many obstacles. You need to get out there every morning and realize what you need to do to get the job done.

What is the toughest part of having Spina Bifida?

The toughest part is time. Time management on a daily basis is a huge issue that I have to deal with every day. I have big mobility issues. Plus, going to the bathroom and things of that nature is challenging. At the end of the day, it all works out as long as you plan ahead and make time for things.

I wear leg braces and have to stand for forty minutes at a time because I am prone to skin breakdown. I am dealing with a skin issue right now, so I have to stand at 2pm every day, and walk around in my braces.

What kind of support structure do you have?

My Family. As you well know, family is my rock of Gibraltar. My mom, Donna, father, Bill, and sister, Laura. We are an army.

What do you do in your free time?

Go to the races. I am a gear head. Every Saturday we pile in the van and go off to Canandaigua Speedway. We support number 99, Charlie Donk, from Macedon. We go to Watkins Glen every year. We also watch the Nextel Cup or NAHH drag racing on TV on the weekends. It has been a huge part of my life since I was 3 years old. We also work on race cars together. All of our friends are involved in motor sports somehow. It is a common ground for my father and I, and we do our male bonding over cars. Some people go to country clubs like Oak Hill. We go to the races. That is our country club.

What is your favorite part of Western NY

The medical care. From my perspective, being an individual with a disability, there are great doctors at the University of Rochester and a really great support system. There is the Greater Rochester Spina Bifida Association. There are certain things that can be better in Rochester medical care, but by and large, Rochester has a great support system for the disabled.

There are a lot of special people at the U of R. They have saved my life a couple of times, getting me out of some pretty tricky situations. They have been wonderful to me and my family. I have made it 38 years!

What inspires you?

The movie Murderball. Everyone should watch it just once. That for me is my bible. It is the most inspirational movie I have ever seen. Two years ago, I got to meet one of the stars from it, Mark Zupan. He was one of the players on team USA. Talk about an inspirational story.

Mark used to be able bodied and played soccer for college. His team won a championship and were out celebrating one night. They got drunk, he crawled into the back of his buddy’s pickup truck and passed out. His buddy got in the truck and drove off not knowing Mark was in the back. The truck skidded off the road and flipped into a river, throwing Mark out of the truck. Mark broke his neck. The guy that was driving the truck took off, not knowing that this happened. Mark hung to a branch for 14 hours until help arrived.

You want to talk about inspiration, see those folks in Murderball.

A favorite book of mine is called "Love is the Killer App.” It is a motivational book that teaches you how to apply love into the business world with your co-workers and your clients.

Who are inspirational figures in the community for you?

Joanne Armstrong is one. She also has Spina Bifida. She does a lot with wheelchair athletics. She embodies what a leader is. She is a no nonsense kind of person. I have known her all of my life and have come to admire her a great deal. For the most part, she is a very strong figure with a great pretense. She is a great friend.

How many people in the United States have Spina Bifida?

The Spina Bifida Association of America estimates that there are over 70,000 cases. Some contend that it occurs due to a lack of folic acid in the mother. There has been a big campaign to increase folic acid in mothers, to try to stop spinal bifida.

Tell me about your work in the business.

I do all of our E-Commerce and eBay stuff. I buy and sell parts on the internet, and work on the website, (http://www.turnerautomotive.com). I do a lot of fill-in work...whatever is needed. I really enjoy Customer Relations.

What is the most enjoyable part of the job?

The people. I have met a lot of friends. Every day you seem to meet someone new from a different background. You deal with people all over the world. I am working with my family and friends. We have three guys in the shop and one salesman and they are some of my best friends. That is a blessing to me. Every day is recess!

How do you like working in the family business?

I love it. It is like American choppers but we do it ten times worse. My dad, Bill, founded the company. My sister Laura is in there as well. She does the books. It is great to work with them.

You need to have a lot of patience when working in a family business. Patience, Patience, Patience. Just agree a lot. Say: “Yes sir, no sir.” If you are in the right, you need to express your opinion, but sometimes, you need to take the path of least resistance and just agree.

What advice would you give to people with Spina Bifida?

Tenacity is the key. Get up every morning. Try to live the best productive life you possibly can within the confines of your disability. You have to be realistic, brutally realistic about your situation. Once you are realistic, you can deal with it. Right now I am dealing with a skin issue and had to spend part of the day in bed, just because that’s required. I brought all of my work home and worked from my laptop.

You have to be adaptable. Adaptability will take you very far. You don’t know what is going to happen from one minute to the next, with your job or with your health. You have to adapt, just plain and simple.

If you could do anything, what would you do?

I have always wanted to ride in a Winston cup car. Beyond that, I want to stay in the family business, and work on my father’s legacy. I am exceedingly proud of the work he has done, and I would like to continue on with the family tradition.

Any other thoughts you think our readers would benefit from?

People with disabilities are often very productive members of society. You watch the news at night and see the baby panda with a panda cub and then you have the disability story right afterwards. We are a much bigger story than that! We are not looking for a hug. Mark Zupan’s statement is; “I am not looking for a hug, I am looking for a medal.” I like hugs, don’t get me wrong, but I am looking to achieve.

Tom can be contacted by email at: vettman@rochester.rr.com

Focus

2009-06-24T15:29:00.002-05:00

By: Ben DeGeorge

Why have I not been doing dishes or laundry for an almost unhealthy period of time?

Because, I am focused on doing the important things that I need to do, inevitably letting the non-important things slide a tiny bit.

Don't worry ladies, I will clean soon!

**You sometimes have to let the little things go by the wayside in order to enable the really big, really good things to happen.**

I have been focusing on getting my new life in Rochester together (yes, I am back to Rochester!) and all of the other responsibilities that I am now charged with as an "adult" just out of college. I feel really motivated now that I just realized my life is in my own hands, and my "future" is a bit closer than I used to think. Frankly, it's time to rock and roll.

So, how do you focus on what is most important in crazy times while still finding time for yourself to recuperate?

Do not respond to emails that are not important to you. Do not check social networking websites (unless that is your stress relief). Do not feel like you have to respond to every message you receive from someone. You can always do it later.

Slam through your most important work with incredible quality, care and accuracy. Take on your to do list with a vengeance.

Stop watching the evening news and instead get stuff done.
Your time is your most important asset. Guard it closely and use it well.

Make sure to maintain your social life. This is vital in slowing the invevitable gray hairs that can come from a demanding lifestyle.

And, keep non-essential work items short, but still create work that is genuine and that you can be proud of. Like this article for example ... ;-)

Once you are able to free up your life from the daily monotonous and pointless tasks, you can start to do the things that you really love, the things that really make a difference in your life and in the lives of others.

Habits

2009-06-18T11:22:00.001-05:00

By: Ben DeGeorge

You are what you do.

Many people think of the word "habit" and immediately think of the bad things that they do on a daily basis. I used to suck on the collar of my shirts and chew off the ears of batman figurines. I remember pretty consistently being told by stern parents, "Stop it! That is such a bad habit!"

From the start we associate this word with bad things.

It's rare to hear someone say to others or think to themselves, "That is such a good habit! Keep it up. You always do that well."

Let me get a bit abstract here. Everyone has an equal number of imaginary "habit points" that they can apply to either good, bad or neutral habits every day. The people who end up doing huge things in the world end up putting their points towards good things.

So, stop focusing on your undesirable actions, focus instead of increasing the number of good actions and decisions that you make every day. Through that, you can push the bad ones out of the picture.

Another pretty amazing thing to do: Tell your friends, colleagues or family members about their behaviors that you like and respect on a more consistent basis! This will reinforce the positive habit, making sure it happens again and again.

Leadership Overhaul

2009-06-09T09:06:00.001-05:00

By: Ben DeGeorge

“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.” - Ralph Nader.

You are only one person. However, you probably have goals that are nearly impossible for only one person to accomplish. In order to accomplish and even blow past your goals, you will need to become a much better leader, empowering and inspiring others to make your mission their own.

Scary fact: Most people who are in leadership positions, or who consider themselves leaders are not great leaders. Exciting fact: Leadership is a skill. It can be learned and improved upon. Even if you don’t have a fancy title, you are still a leader and can lead those around you (or those above you!)

Here are some very simple, effective things that you can do right now to improve your ability to make a difference. Read each point slowly, take action on it immediately and review it often.

Form friendships first, do work second. People who join my organizations and volunteer their time are always people who I have created friendships with beforehand. “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.” - John Maxwell.

Help others before helping yourself. The more you help others, the more you will be helped. You can solve a lot of your own problems by solving other people’s problems. Here is a HUGE secret for you: Those who experience HUGE success become very good at solving other people’s problems.

Acknowledge people’s accomplishments. Give other people credit instead of giving it to yourself.Send hand written thank you notes to people. Let your colleagues know that someone did something great in the office. Compliment others on their strengths. Do this again and again and again, forever.

Be accountable. As a member of an organization, you are responsible for its success. If you are working inside of a business, it is not only the CEO’s job to see it succeed, it is yours. If you have committed yourself to something, and it does not succeed, it is your fault as well as anyone else’s fault.

Bring in the loner. In any group, there is often one or more “outsiders” who do not yet feel part of the rest of the group. These people will eventually leave the group, unless you do something. You can bring that person in to the group by building a relationship with them and making them a part of the community.

Join and lead a volunteer organization. If you can lead a volunteer organization, you can lead anything. This kind of real world experience is invaluable and will help you develop your skills faster than any book, class or article.

Never have others do something you would not do. Show those who you lead that you can work hard. Once you do that, they will work harder for you.

Communicate like a rock star. It does not count if only you know what you mean. You have to be good enough to inspire others to action. The better writer and speaker you are, the better you will be able to inspire others to action.

Become comfortable making decisions. Many people hate making decisions that involve other people. Change that and start making them more often. On the flip side, listen to others in order to ensure you are making the right decisions.

Spend more time with leaders. The skills and attitudes will rub off.

Be creative. Leadership is an art and science. You must use your heart and your brain. Your leadership style will be totally different from everyone else’s.

Remember that your goal is to improve the lives of those who you lead or work with. Through that process, you will benefit big time. These are only small pieces in your leadership puzzle. The rest is for you to find. Your leadership journey will take a lifetime!

Jennifer Sertl

2009-06-01T07:18:00.002-05:00

Jennifer Sertl is an executive coach based in Rochester NY. She has had a big impact on our publication, not only in coaching Joseph but also in suggesting that we put the Impact in VIP. Her thoughts inspire both of us and certainly will get you thinking, and hopefully acting, whether you are a CEO, out of work or anywhere in between. Especially poignant to me are her thoughts on battling the recession found near the end of the piece. There is some great content here from our conversation. Check it out! - Ben & Joseph

Early Influences

People with challenging early lives have been given a gift. Whatever you survive is your greatest gift to the world. My mother is schizophrenic. She was hospitalized for the first decade of my life. I became conscious of it when I was eight and remember spending time playing ping pong and drinking chocolate milk with crazy people every weekend when visiting her. In retrospect, I realized at that time that reality does not lie outside of us. Every person experiences reality. I got really good at putting my reality aside and taking on the reality of those in the hospital. I would be able to get in and out of character very fast.

My most embarrassing moment was when I saw my mother on a bus when I was in college and I did not acknowledge her. I was going to the University of Colorodo in Boulder and people did not know anything about me other than that I was somewhat attractive and very smart. Being smart was very important to me. If people could see me as sane then they would not know I lived with insanity. I now feel physically embarrassed that my mother was living on the streets and that I was more concerned about me than her.

Clarity

I started out studying psychology and realized I did not enjoy the chemistry classes. So I went and studied existential philosophy and English. When I was 19 I read Immanuel Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. There was a statement that stuck with me; “We have an imperfect but positive duty to seek our own perfection and happiness of other people.” That was the bible to me. All of a sudden I had my true north. I started making judgments if I would do something based upon whether it impacts my perfection or increases the happiness of another person. If the answer was no, then I would let it go.

It was lovely to have clarity on how to make choices at age 19.

Love and Early Career

I fell in love with a competitive ski racer. We went to Oregon to the Mount Hood Ski Academy. I taught English and he was a Ski Instructor. For two years of our life we lived in Portland Oregon.

We moved here to Rochester, New York in 1994. At that time we were living at my husband’s family’s house. The economic situation was like it is today. I had trouble getting a job and ended up working for a temp agency doing long distance phone service from 7pm to midnight. I noticed that I did not like how I was treated as a phone rep. I was probably not the only one who was smart and just collecting a paycheck and was treated like a monkey. However, I was very excited to be working.

Bigger, Better Things

It was very clear to me during my childhood who had the power. It was a survival strategy that I developed early on. I learned the rules of engagement at my job and within three years I was part of the management team of a two hundred person call center. I knew that the only way to fight the system was to be excellent in the system and then to be asked, “How did you do it?” I don’t do anything but perform, and with my performance let people become curious. Then I teach.

Then I went to Blue Cross Blue Shield and was a staff development coordinator for 1,000 employees. I helped design core competency models which are used to design hiring and firing. If you don’t hire and fire people for the culture that you want to create then you will have to constantly retrain and will not have the culture that you desire. You need to hire and fire people through the same filter. The culture is to the employee what the brand is to the customer.

I realized that I would be pigeon holed as an HR executive if I stayed where I was. Companies are still doing HR for legal reasons and not strategic reasons, which is pretty sad. This is not where the power is. I wanted to be where the power source was. So, I quit to start my own business.

The first business I had was Customer Service Alliance. We did employee and customer service satisfaction surveys and strategic intent. I then joined the group called TECH, now called VISTAGE, which runs CEO roundtables. I joined to become more sophisticated in my consulting design, and became a chair of it. This was great because I had an imagination that it would be great to work with CEOs. I saw them as having great intelligence and elegance.

I ended up running CEO roundtables for five years. The CEOs would spend a full day once a month with me all together and then two hours individually. They paid $3,000 a year for the network and whole experience. Part of me was disillusioned, but also excited by the experience when I realized that they are just human beings and they come with the same ethical dilemmas, crises, deficits and gifts as anyone else.

My greatest gift is holding people accountable. It is amazing to see how so few people hold others accountable at higher levels. Two years ago I chose to change my company to Agility 3R (Resilience, Responsiveness, and Reflection). I am doing more executive coaching and with a co author in Israel I wrote the book Strategy, Leadership and the Soul. It is about how you create designs and brand from the inside out. It is a book about accountability. We finished it in December of 2008 and are now working on having it published. Things take time so you have to be patient.

Impact and Presence

I have chosen to be impactful. I deliberately chose a practice of impact. When you are that kind of person, wherever you go you are a magnet. I met my co author Koby Huberman when I was invited to a conference in Nice, France. My talk was entitled "If you want to change the world, change your life." I also met Peter Collins who started the Global Business Network and is the editor for Doubleday Books.

Why did I mention that?

Because, it is usually when you have no agenda that you create deep relationships that will make a big impact in your life. I get really sad and scared when I see so much mechanistic sales and networking going on. I have been lucky enough and have had enough intent to connect with people at a world class level. The game I am playing is presence, to really kick the ball that is in front of you. You need to be able to kick it with elegance and with design.

I ask people, “What is your DNA?” If we can watch Cold Case and actually find out who is involved in a murder then we must conclude that we leave an imprint wherever we go. The question is, “What imprint are you leaving?” My invitation is that you shape it and name it. What is your experience and what is the experience of those who are with you? When are you the most pleased and proud and honored? Take that answer and ask if every day you are living up to it. Mine are wisdom, grace and impact. So for the last three years I have analyzed my actions in that framework, in that “brand.” I am giving others access to my brand experience and have to be very careful about who touches it and how.

What are your long term goals?

I feel complete with everyone in my life. Before I die I would like to see the book published. If I were to die today the only thing that would make me sad is that the book is not out there. In terms of my goals, I want to get more able to live up to my own expectations of myself. Also, I would like to touch one million people before I die as a coach, presenter or through the book.

I am hoping to start leveraging Skype. I think we as adults learn best through peer learning. I would like to create a Skype environment with 16 people from 16 countries and spin off leadership academies. This would be a global leadership academy. Leadership is an ongoing process and it takes a lifetime to master it.

I would be proud to be invited to the Economic World Forum or to TED Talks.

Where the Recession Came From: Low Curiosity

I do not have an MBA. I have no intention of getting one. There was an article in the Wall Street Journal pondering how people who are so educated could have created such a crisis. Often, when you are educated, you become a bit arrogant.

My husband is a competitive bass fisherman. He places really well in big lakes but not in lakes like Canandaigua where he learned how to fish. Our interpretation of this is that when you are familiar, you go by memory, you go by the past, and you don’t pay attention to the current situation. When you have a curious mind, you have presence and you make wise decisions. People get educated and they often lose caution. You need to live on a level of “I don’t know” at all times. There is an element of caution that will allow you greater access.

Planning your Life

I have this concept called 200 watts. You have 200 watts a month and can use it wherever you want. I look at things in 90 day blocks and build capacity in for learning, strategy and for presence. Input is to put more information in. Strategy is when I need to make decisions. 15% of my time is input, 15% of my time is strategy by design. The rest I commit to presence. Companies that I work with have that type of approach as well.

If you are only spending 8% of your time with your customer and 2% of your time creating, you are making a mistake. You should spend 30% of your time with your customer and 20% of your time looking at how you can change what you do. The rest of your time is spent on your delivery mechanism.

How to build a close community inside of an organization

Our brains are hardwired to need adrenaline in batches. Without it, we would be catatonic. When companies have an enemy outside of the business, the alignment process accelerates because their adrenaline has a clear target. Companies that are having trouble with solvency are not cat fighting. They are pulling it together inside because there is a real threat on the outside. Leaders who understand the physiology of behavior can design outlets for that behavior. The enemy will be inside without having an enemy on the outside.

Please define customer focus for us.

Normal painters or construction builders will build a facility. They will never leave a document that would have a swab and paint number and additional door knobs with a knob number to make it easier on the home buyer. Think about who you are serving and understand every other aspect of their lifestyle. Then you can design your business from their perspective around what would be valuable to your customer. Customer service is having it done on time and making sure there are no cigarettes butts in the parking lot. Customer focus is anticipating issues. It is being proactive instead of reactive. If you travel to a different country you see how well you are treated. People will Google me before I arrive... in a hotel that I am only staying in for one night.

*Recession Advice*

I went to a job fair recently and my heart went out to them because I saw that these people were not prepared for the challenges ahead of them. As a generation X person, I never felt I was working for someone. I always felt that I was working WITH someone as long as there was reciprocal value. I grew up in an age when people were free agents looking for a place that provided reciprocal value in money or in learning. There was a symbiotic relationship. Those people who have agility have found a way to continue to create value, or have found where the power was in order to continue to stay safe.

Those who have been laid off did not create value for those in power or were unable to create a new job where they were able to create value. They need to take responsibility right now. This happened to them because they did not make wise choices. They missed a game change and were not able to play. One must make sure to not continue to play the same game they have been playing but just harder, because the rules have changed. It is a different game. Own that you do not understand it and that you need to get some help.

Be with people who are thriving. You have no time to be around people who are not thriving, because it brings you down. You can let your muscles know that there is hope. A coach said to me a while back to make sure that you are the lowest IQ of the ten people that you most spend time with. Too many people are the highest number.

Actionable right now: Make sure you are developing three skills at all times. One is related to your core current practice. Second is a macro environmental skill, as an example: Systems thinking. The third skill is leadership or personal knowledge. Rate your development of these skills on a scale of one to ten.

Final Thoughts

You two have shown what is possible in creating connectivity. The reader’s job is to take what you have given and create innovative ways of creating value for their network and using it towards their goals.

Jenn can be reached by email at: jsertl@rochester.rr.com
Her writing can be found at: http://agility3r.com/blog/

Lance Armstrong

2009-05-21T23:43:00.001-05:00

“I grew up a boyhood fan of Lance Armstrong. My first encounter with the man was on July 26th, 1999, the day after he won his first Tour de France. It didn’t mean much to me at the time as I was only 13, but the image of him with his arms pumped in the air on the front page of the Press & Sun Bulletin, my local newspaper, made a lasting impression on me. At the time I was just starting to get into running - the sport I would eventually compete in for the next 10 years of my life - and I was in search of meaning. It took a few more years to dig up why I fell in love with running, but a key tenant of my passion came from following Lance Armstrong. Nobody bikes over 2,000 miles in a three week span through the hills of France without a purpose. After reading his autobiography, “It’s Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life,” written with Sally Jenkins, I realized the truth behind this man’s story. He grew up in a single family household adopting the “man of the house” role early on. As a triathlete during his high school years he would bike 20 miles to a morning swim practice, go to school, have an afternoon swim practice, and then bike 20 miles home. After shocking the fields of major triathlons at only fifteen years old, Lance turned to cycling. He climbed the ladder fast and at age 21 won the world championship in Oslo, screaming as he made his high powered attacks and showboating as he crossed the line. But, the real trial of his life came when Lance was diagnosed with the highest degree of testicular cancer, which spread through his lungs and into his brain. He devoted his entire life at that point to researching and conquering the cancer with knowledge and a positive attitude. Lance suffered through more pain than most of us could ever imagine as the toxins of the chemotherapy ate away at his body. But he never gave up, he never lost hope, and he fought with everything he had - mind and body. After a long year of treatment he defeated the cancer. Lance fought his cancer with the same passion he has competed with. He has a heart that never gives up and this has lead him to win an all time cycling record, seven (7) Tour de France races in a row, before retiring. We can learn much about how to live life by observing and appreciating an individual like Lance Armstrong who continues to live his own life with such passion.” -Joseph Norman

The following are some excerpts from his book, “It’s Not About the Bike:”

“Then Nichols stunned me: he said that he would like to tailor my treatment to get me back on the bike. That was the one thing no doctor besides Scott Wolff had said to me. Not one. I was so taken aback that at first I didn’t trust what he was saying. The trip to Houston had so deflated me, particularly the description of the rigors of treatment and the extreme measures it would take to save me. My highest priority was survival. “Just help me live,” I said.” (104)

“Maybe I needed to tell myself I was still a rider, not just a cancer patient, no matter how weak I had become. If nothing else, it was my way of countering the disease and regaining the control it had stripped from me. I can still do this, I told myself. I might not be able to do it like I used to, but I can still do it.” (144)

“I had never embraced my life. I had made something of it, and fought for it, but I had never particularly enjoyed it. “You have this gift,” Kik (Armstrong’s first wife) said. “You can teach me how to really love life, because you’ve been on the brink, and you saw the other side. So you can show me that.” But she showed me. She wanted to see everything, and I was the guy who for to show it to her, and in showing it to her, I saw it for myself.” (169)

“The truth is, if you asked me to choose between winning the Tour de France and cancer, I would choose cancer. Odd as it sounds, I would rather have the title of cancer survivor than winner of the Tour, because of what it has done for me as a human being, a man, a husband, a son, and a father.” (259)

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. That surrender, even the smallest act of giving up, stays with me. So when I feel like quitting, I ask myself, which would I rather live with? Facing up to that question, and finding a way to go on, is the real reward, better than any trophy.

By now you’ve figured out I’m into pain. Why? Because it’s self-revelatory, that’s why. There is a point in every race when a rider encounters his real opponent and understands that it’s himself. In my most painful moments on the bike, I am at my most curious, and I wonder each and every time how I will respond. Will I discover my innermost weakness, or will I seek out my innermost strength? It’s an open-ended question whether or not I will be able to finish the race. You might say pain is my chosen way of exploring the human heart.” (269-270)

Redoing Your Life

2009-05-21T23:42:00.003-05:00

By: Ben DeGeorge

I am moving to a new city to pursue the beginning of my career in the working world. I am entering a place that knows nothing about me and I know nearly nothing about it. This is exciting for a person who just graduated from a college that is 25 minutes away from the house he grew up in.

It is exciting because I now get to shape my lifestyle afresh. I can become an expert on whatever I want to be. I can attain any skills that I want to have. I can build anything I decide to build. I am now questioning what do I want to do? More importantly it is a question of what not? This is tough to determine, especially given my ambitious energy to do everything!

I realize that whatever I do, I need to do it extremely well.

People often do things just to do things. Stated another way, most people do not control their own day. Most people act reactively instead of proactively on matters large and on matters small losing sight of what is important. Realizing this, I have made a goal of being in better control of my schedule, my actions and my day. I need to say, "No," more often and focus on the important things. (First, building a business and second, building myself without any sort of guilt.)

How would you like to redo your life? Perhaps you would like to actually do all of the things that have been on your to - do list. Do you want to learn how to dance? Do it! Do you want to read more books? Work out more? Make more deep friendships? Start happily saying "no" with no regrets for taking the time to focus on your dreams and ambitions.

Do not let anyone run your schedule. Own it!

Seriously, start learning to quit things and to say no without guilt. Do everything that you do really well.

Read The Dip by Seth Godin for ways to know when to quit and when to stick out something. Learn how to do this as soon as you can so that you can quit the pointless things and focus on the important things - getting on with your life!

Using Your Network to Create Social Change

2009-05-13T20:49:00.007-05:00

Here is a very good lesson in the power of using your network and being persistent in order to accomplish change. This is a conversation with VIP Peter Boulay (Profile) about a recent upsetting incident he experienced at the hands of the airline industry. -BIW

Peter Boulay: On June 29th, 2008 I flew out to Salt Lake City to go white water rafting with my brothers. I have a disability and thus special procedures are taken for me when I get off of planes. I made arrangements through Travelocity ahead of time to make sure everything was ok and followed up to make sure that everyone was aware of my needs. I flew out west from Rochester NY on Northwest Airlines and they treated me like gold.

Coming back from Salt Lake on Friday July 4th, I was riding on United Airlines. They got me on the plane, but during layover in Chicago they never came to get me off the plane. I ended up crawling out of the plane myself and getting into my wheelchair on my own. Fortunately the wheelchair was waiting for me. After that I filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation and tried to get in touch with United Airlines.

I was in touch with local congressional offices in November of 2008 to try to resolve this issue. There was no progress through this channel for six months, and I lost a lot of my momentum and motivation.

Finally, during the first week of April of this year I got a letter from the Department of Transportation. They had filed my complaint six months before but had forgotten about it. They basically told me the incident was my fault, that I did not follow the right directions. They blamed me for putting my travel plans through Travelocity, saying that Travelocity dropped the ball. They claimed they did not know that I needed help and that I only asked for help once I was in the terminal. This was another slap in the face, and motivated me to take further actions forward.

I remembered that Congressman Eric Massa’s Communications Director has a disability. I ended up giving her a call asking for advisement on this issue. Once Massa’s office heard about this, they exploded! They started to inquire on their own, to the point where this became a congressional inquiry. Under a congressional inquiry, people have to respond. The office got through to Travelocity and cleared Travelocity of any wrong after speaking with the company President.

The office has tried to get in touch with United Airlines, but United has not responded to them yet. I appeared on Channel 13 News (View clip here) at 6pm on the 21st of March and I was on the Brother Weeze Radio show two weeks ago.

Shawn Carroll of Channel 13 called United for the TV special. The Airline Company said “We knew he was there, we knew he needed help, but were waiting for a second person to help tag team me.” However, I never knew the first person was there. They keep on contradicting themselves.

United did send me a $150 gift certificate. I was told it was as a courtesy.

I have kept on using my network to push this issue. Recently I met Diane Coleman of Center for Disability Resources. It turns out that she is from Chicago. She has connections into the Mayor’s Office and the Commission for Disabilities. I got a call back from an individual in the Chicago City Government. He agreed that this is a systemic issue and is happening everywhere, Chicago being no exception. Currently they are exploring the issue.

BIW: Have you come across any similar cases that have been resolved properly?

PB: No. I have not.

BIW: What do you hope to see come of this?

PB: I am trying to make sure this does not happen again. Just imagine if this had happened to someone with a more extensive disability. I am asking for an admission of fault from United. I have the right to fly like any American does. I think we are going to get good results and I will continue to push this until it is resolved.

BIW: What is your advice to someone who is trying to do something like this?

PB: Use your resources. Use your Senators and your Congressmen. Eric Massa’s company was able to get through to the President of Travelocity. Look at the community resources and look at your network.
I want to also emphasize how great my Facebook contacts have been for this. I have shared the entire process on Facebook and the support has been phenomenal. It is a very interesting study in the power of new communication technologies through all of this.

BIW: There is a quote that comes to mind: “The system works if you work the system.” Thank you very much Peter for this story.

Customer Service

2009-05-13T20:49:00.005-05:00

By: Joseph Norman

“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.” - Sam Walton

About four months ago a client of the real estate company I co-founded after college, Norwalk Enterprises, said something to my business partner and I on a conference call that was subtle, but absolutely rocked our world. He was in the process of doing a deal with us, purchasing a cash flow rental property in Rochester, when he said, “You know guys, I’m counting on you now.”

It took a few days for that to really settle in, but it did.

Now, it’s not that we weren’t focused on high quality customer service before then, but there was a definite reality to the situation after we heard our client say that. It hammered home the fact that you’ve got to treat your customers right because they pay your bills and are ultimately, your best salespeople.

As Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles discuss in their best-selling book, “Raving Fans,” if you provide legendary service, you will create raving fans.

Here are a few things I’ve learned about customer service that might be helpful!

Under Promise, Over Deliver (UPOD). Set realistic expectations for your clients that you know you can beat. Then do your best to deliver results that exceed those expectations!

Be available. If you have a client in crisis mode, answer the phone! Call them back! Communicate with them! It’s as simple as that. Showing you care about their concerns with your actions goes a long way - even if it is just to say, “I got your message. We’ll take care of it on Monday.” That means a lot to a client.

Honesty. The truth is what they need to hear. Even if it isn’t what they want to hear, in the end they’ll respect you more and be more loyal because you told them the truth.

Listen. Above all things you need to listen to what your customers have to say. When you take the time to listen, you learn all of your clients’ insecurities, fears, and inhibitions. In addition, you learn their hopes, dreams, and ambitions. By listening you make your customers feel valued. That is priceless.

Not a business owner? These four principles apply to everyday life as well!

Ryan Rogers

2009-05-06T00:29:00.002-05:00

"I met Ryan a few years ago when my oldest brother first moved to Orlando. At that point he was in the beginning of his transition from mortgage broker to realtor. Since that time he’s developed a successful real estate practice based on some simple principles; listening well, responding quickly and intelligently, and doing the right thing. This has allowed him to serve his clients well and ultimately grow his business substantially...even in one of the most troubled markets of the real estate downturn, Orlando, Florida. It is truly a pleasure to feature some of his thoughts today!" - Joseph Norman

Being a realtor in one of the markets that was dramatically hit by the real estate downturn, how has that affected your business? And, what are a few of the ways you’ve tried to add value to your clients?

My biggest advantage with the real estate is my knowledge of the mortgage industry. I worked for a bank for many years, so I have a distinct advantage in helping my clients through the closing process. Where I add a lot of value is helping my clients save money with their mortgages.

That’s a big thing. Say you go to a closing and your client is getting charged an extra two points for an origination fee when the interest on the loan is already very high. That’s something you can actually alleviate.

I’ve actually been at the closing table before and noticed that my client was being charged an additional 3 points, or 3 percent, up front. I said to them, “You’re not closing.” At that point I told the bank that we wouldn’t close unless they took those points off because I knew the bank was getting 2 points on the backside already. I won’t let a client close if I see something that I wouldn’t accept personally. Or, at least, I give them the option to make a decision either way. As long as they know the consequences, they have the right to make their own decision.

A lot of times realtors are treated poorly by the banks because they don’t necessarily know a lot about the mortgage process. I feel that you provide your people a better service if you can bring more knowledge about the transaction to the table. That has helped me get more clients.

With my internet advertising, potential clients that call me are talking to at least 3 or 4 realtors. So, my knowledge is a key way I can differentiate myself. And, about 50% of the questions I answer are in regards to mortgages.

Also, when I sell a house I actually listen to people. I don’t sell them the house that I want them to buy. I’ll send them a sheet and the first question is, “What is your wish list for a house?” Then I take that and start showing them houses that meet their desires and one they can afford.

If I have a client that can afford a $250k house, I’m not going to show them a $350k house because they’ll never want to settle for a $250k place then.

In terms of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), what are some things you do?

I have a comprehensive system that I use which funnels clients down into two categories; short term buyers and long term buyers. I consider three to six months a short term buyer. The software I use, called House Values, is a program that helps me automatically send valuable information to clients or potential clients periodically. It’s expensive, but I’ve probably closed about 5 deals from it in the last year.

I have actually increased my marketing expenses in the last year to stay competitive in this economy. The leads you get in Orlando real estate are interesting because half of the people I’ve worked with before are stuck in properties that are upside down. I knew I needed to generate more leads, so I’ve taken the necessary actions to do that.

You definitely have to spend money right now to make money. I know people that have been in the business for ten or twelve years and they are calling me now to ask me how I’m getting all of my clients. We’re talking people that are closing $7-10 million in business a year.

It’s sort of odd to have people at that level asking me those questions. But the marketplace has changed and my systems are working.

What are some things you’ve done to help you personally handle the current economy?

In terms of purchasing a house, I bought within my means. I could have afforded a lot more house when I bought, but if I had done that, right now I would be in big trouble.

A surprising fact I came across was that the top 1 percent of individuals in this country only make about $388k a year. That’s really not a whole lot of money in comparison. That means many of these people that have bought million dollar homes are actually living paycheck to paycheck.

If you’re going to buy a house, you’ve got to get into something that you can logically afford. But, that’s not always easy to do. When I was in the mortgage industry, I would tell people when they couldn’t afford something but they wouldn’t necessarily listen to me. They might even say, “If you don’t do the mortgage for me, I’ll go somewhere else.”

Be knowledgeable about what you’re making and be reasonable. Don’t live at an income level that isn’t realistic with what you actually make.

What are some of your hobbies?

I do a lot of things. Play a lot of tennis, golf, and softball. I also enjoy a variety of water sports; wakeboarding, jet skiing, etc. It’s important to stay active. It keeps you young!

You’ve also got to enjoy what you do. As for my line of work, if you don’t like being with people you shouldn’t be in this business. I meet some realtors that say I don’t like answering the phone. So, I ask them, “Why are you in the business?”

You have to run your own business and you have to run it smart. If you need structure and you can’t do it yourself, then this isn’t the business for you. In real estate the best thing you can do is talk to everyone you can. If you’re at the mall and somebody is talking about houses, give them a card. They may never call you, but they also might! You’ve got to take that chance.

What is your definition of success?

You know I think it is different for everyone. I don’t think success is measured by money, per se. It’s loving what you do and being able to make a living at it. I think that is really the key.

What your perception of living is, is what you make it. If you’re in real estate and you make $50k per year and you’re happy - it fits your income level and pays your bills - then you probably feel successful.

I must say, I have a lot of freedom in my job so I can do a lot of things. And, I make a very good income in respect to a normal job. I don’t have to answer to anyone as I’m my own boss. If you look at cost per hour what I make, I do very well. But, I also have to be available.

I may take a call at 9:30 PM on a Friday, because I’d rather have a client get an answer from me immediately then have to wait a few days. That’s another key for me. If I get a call on a Saturday and a client is freaking out, some people might not respond until Monday. But, if you let them wait until Monday morning to get them an answer, then you have probably shot their whole weekend if they’re a stressful person.

In this business, you have to answer the phone. That has to come first. All your other free time is what you want to make of it!

Final thoughts?

It is what it is. You’ve just got to keep going. If you’re self-employed like I am, you’ve got to figure out a way to do it and just do it.

Ryan can be reached by email at RyanRogersRealty@gmail.com.

Passion

2009-05-06T00:28:00.001-05:00

By: Ben DeGeorge

Whatever you do, you better have a burning passion for it. It is after all, the driving force behind all achievement. If you don’t have that kind of emotion, then you are shortchanging whatever you are doing, yourself and those around you.

It’s pretty easy to find people who are living out their passions. A great example of this is most artists, like musicians (click here for an example), who pour their heart into their work. You can see it in their faces. Is it in yours?

If you can’t describe your job (or whatever it is that you do) with excitement, then you have a problem...a big one. In fact, it is a big problem that most people rarely think about, or try to deal with for that matter.

There are two steps you can take if you are not passionate about whatever it is that you do right now.

1) Find something else to do.

2) Increase the positive feelings that you have towards what you do.

You can increase your positive feelings in five ways: A) Bring some play into your work; B) Remind yourself how what you do effects others for good or bad; C) Remind yourself why you do what you do or what your inner motivations are; D) Assess and remake your goals; and, E) Do what you do, but do it much better!

Passion is the ultimate human emotional state. Find yours and you will be able to maximize your abilities in whatever you are doing.

A very valuable exercise is to find out what you care about - what pumps you up. Once you do that, you can start to spend more and more of your day doing what you were meant to do. I have identified that I love creating, helping others and improving myself. Whatever I do has to fit around these things.

What about you?

“You can not kindle a fire in any other hearts until it is burning within your own.” - Eleanor Doan

Ken Henderson

2009-04-28T23:43:00.006-05:00

“Every day is an opportunity for growth.”

Ken Henderson is a Financial Advisor with the K&H Group at Merrill Lynch. He is also a 5Linx Business Owner and National Expansion Leader, a family man, an ordained Deacon and Community of Faith leader, a mentor, a coach and a talented musician. We met through a community initiative we are mutually involved in. I was immediately impressed by his clear passion for pursuing his ambitions and improving other’s lives. Here are his valuable thoughts on personal success. - Ben DeGeorge

BIW: How do you balance everything? A lot of people struggle with being so active and limiting stress. How do you stay stable with so many things on your plate?

It isn’t easy, but it’s absolutely worth the struggle and it is somewhat of a moving target, meaning you have to constantly adjust your approach. I don’t like the word time management, because you can’t manage time, but you can manage yourself within that time. Everyone has the same amount of time, 24 hours in a day. I like to compartmentalize each hour, thinking of a day as the train of success. Each hour is a box car on the train of success. Whatever you fill the hour (the box car) with will determine your level of success and what kind of positive impact you can make. We have an opportunity to pickup a payload that will either benefit us or weigh us down. We also have a choice every day to unload the negative or even permanently disconnect from a troubled boxcar. We can always find an hour that more than makes up for the one lost. Every day is an opportunity for growth.

BIW: What are your ultimate dreams?

My goal is to leave a legacy for my family. I can envision my children and my children’s children looking at a picture of me on a wall and saying; that was the guy who made a difference in not only our lives but countless others, modeling the formula of success, not by the size of his bank account but by the size of his heart. He stepped outside of his comfort zone and traveled the road less traveled and we are indeed wealthy from his example. That is a very positive way to think; it’s all about what size ripple you make in the ocean of life.

Ken and His Daughter

BIW: What is your advice to surviving in this economy?

One part of me wants to talk about what I do now. I have learned so much recently as an investor and financial advisor but also could speak about my time in free enterprise (at 5linx and another direct marketing business I owned prior to 5linx.) My advice is to diversify your income with multiple income streams and be your own boss. However, there is somewhat of a dichotomy there. If people have that entrepreneurial spirit, then I suggest identifying an income-generating vehicle timed and positioned in front of a major wealth trend, taking action by getting started and then never quitting or letting anyone steal your dream! If that’s not your cup of tea, there is nothing wrong with working for someone else as long as you are truly passionate about what you do on the job. You certainly need to have a continual income stream to survive the valleys of business cycle contractions such as our current recession.

It is important to ask yourself; “Where was I five years ago, where am I now and where will I be five years from now if I continue to do what I’m doing now? Will I be better off financially five years from now than I am now?” If I continue to do what I’m doing, should I expect a different result?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 80% of people making $50 thousand or more every year own their own business. Tax laws are created to help business owners. This country was founded on the principles of business ownership which taps into the 157 tax deductions for the qualified business owner. W2 wage earners only have three tax deductions. There are only so many donations you can make to Goodwill once your kids are grown and the house is paid off.

I encourage people to find a business opportunity to tap into those 157 tax deductions. The more you keep, the wealthier you are, and that is what the wealthy people of this country understand.

BIW: What do you do in your free time?

I spend a lot of time with my family, sharing life with them. My rest time is my connect time with my family. The best thing is when all family members are headed in the same direction in life. When there is disunity and everyone is going in a different direction, focus is split and it is very tough on everyone and it tends to decimate results.

Ken and His Wife, Daisy

I also love indoor and outdoor gardening and landscaping. I have a rubber plant in my home that is about twelve feet tall. When we first moved in 10 years ago, it was only four feet tall. I’ve watched it grow and stretch far beyond what ever I thought possible. I’ve learned so much by observing life and people. We can learn so much from nature, from the things we can easily take for granted every day.

It’s interesting to talk to farmers. They depend on so many things outside of their control; sunlight, good weather, growth of a healthy and profitable crop, yet they have patience and faith that the laws of nature will combine to produce their desired results. They understand the principles of life, faith, hope and perseverance.

To relax, I enjoy reading, riding my cruiser motorcycle, and of course, music. I play the piano with classical and jazz as my favorite genres. My father is Eddie Henderson, the legendary jazz trumpeter and former member of the Herbie Hancock sextet. He has always been and still is my hero in life. He is absolutely living his dream. He was also the first African American figure skater for the Ice Foleys. For more information about him, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Henderson_(musician)

Ken's Father, Eddie Henderson

Although my formal instruction in music and piano began when I was the age of 6 in San Francisco, I continued formal study of piano at Hochstein School of Music in Rochester, won a preparatory department scholarship to the Eastman school and earned the Howard Hanson Certificate of Merit for outstanding piano performance. I performed a selection from my repertoire at Nazareth Arts College.

After high school, I went on to study Mechanical Engineering at Syracuse University where I earned a Bachelor of Science and later a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering at the University of Rochester. I was hired by Xerox in 1984. For the first 7 year at Xerox, I was the keyboardist for a local band in Rochester, called Fusion. From there, I have played for my own personal enjoyment and as the pianist for a number of Baptist churches in Rochester.

BIW: If you could give any word of advice to all of the people in Western NY, what would it be?

Keep the attitude high. Attitude is everything to success, it determines your altitude. Attitude is a choice. Your choices you make right now impact what happens to you tomorrow. This is something that is completely controllable. Where you are in life depends, in large part, upon the program that runs inside you. That program [inside of you] is created by you, by the things you say, the things you do, the things you think and the people with whom you associate on a daily basis.

Protect your ear gate and mouth gate. Don’t let things in your ear that you shouldn’t, don’t let things out of your mouth that you shouldn’t. We all have the ability to be great. Protecting those gates can positively impact your programming and ultimately determine your level of greatness.

It is also important to understand that sometimes we need an attitude adjustment and that we can make that happen daily by the choices we make in improving our programming. Thinking, reading, planning, associating, speaking, and most importantly, doing are all necessary ingredients to programming ourselves for success.

Ken can be contacted at kch@ascenttelecommunications.com

Patience, Persistence, & Self-Belief

2009-04-28T23:39:00.002-05:00

By: Joseph Norman

Last week I had the humbling and exciting opportunity of delivering a keynote address at the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony at my alma mater, Windsor Central High School.

As I was preparing my message for the speech over the last month, I struggled with getting clarity on what I was going to say. I knew I wanted it to be original and authentic...coming from where I am today; a young entrepreneur working on a dream.

So, courtesy of a recent VIP, John Engels, I told the audience I wasn’t fit to give them any advice about how they should live their lives. (Click here for John's profile) Instead, I shared with them the three most real things in my life right now.

I said, “Whatever you want to do with your life, whoever you desire to become, whatever career or personal endeavor you long to succeed in, I want you to know this. You can get there - I really believe that - but you will be tested in at least these three ways; Your capacity to be patient, your courage to persist, and,arguably the most important, your belief in yourself.”

You’ve got to be patient. Real fulfilling success doesn’t come instantly. It takes time to make big things happen and I’ve learned that it’s important to recognize that in the beginning as you’ll be more apt to set realistic expectations.

As for my message in regards to you, I’m making an assumption that in some form or another, you do have goals for yourself - whether you write them on paper or just have them in your head. First, I challenge you to write them down and second it’s important to remember that accomplishing those goals and finding your own success takes time.

In some cases it can come about very fast, but more often than not, it’s going to test your patience.

You’ve got to be persistent. People aren’t going to call you back. You’re going to get beaten down. You’re going to want to give up. You’re going to want to walk away. But, if what you want to accomplish really means something to you...then you can’t.

Since I graduated from college I’ve faced some trials. I’ve been humbled by the realization that you don’t know what you don’t know. I’ve dealt with the emotional stress of not being able to pay my monthly bills at a few different times. And, I’ve struggled with the absolute mental mess associated with knowing I could get a day job and stop that pain but I choose not too because of a belief in something bigger for myself.

This lifestyle I lead is not for the faint of heart. But the truth is we can all help ourselves by being persistent. Sir Winston Churchill once said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” It’s as simple as that...just keep going.

You’ve got to believe in yourself. When you’re out there striving for some of your own big, meaty goals, people you’ve trusted and admired your entire life are going to doubt you. Tonight, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to listen to them. How could they possibly know what’s best for you? Only you know what is best for you.

If you want to be a great engineer, you can be. If you want to be a respected mechanic or craftsman, you can be. And, if you want to be a fantastic teacher or business person, you absolutely can be.

But, first you’ve got to empower yourself and believe you can.

So, remember to be patient. It’s going to take time to accomplish your goals. Recognize that and don’t give up. Be persistent. Even people you trust and admire will try to hold you back and bring you down, but at the end of the day, you control your own destiny. So, believe in it. Believe in yourself. If you believe it, you can achieve it. You hold the power to create your own wildly successful life. Use it.

Feel Your Best

2009-04-21T23:38:00.001-05:00

By: Ben DeGeorge

The best way to feel your best is to help others.

The best way to help others is by using three intangible, free, powerful and often underutilized tools; kindness, respect and admiration.

If you can show others kindness, respect and admiration, you will experience the ultimate high, build the best friendships and eventually, see the greatest success and happiness in your life.

How well do you show these right now? Probably not as well as you could.

If you are able to do these three things really well, you will receive them from others.

How should you use kindness? First, you must stop thinking about yourself and your own needs. Second, you must be aware of others feelings, sense of comfort and pride. Then you need to shape your actions towards other people around their feelings.

Try smiling more.

How should you attain genuine respect for others? Realize that everyone has value. Also realize that everyone is able to do something better than you. In that, you can learn from that person. If you can learn from someone, you can respect them.

How should you show admiration? As I mentioned, everyone is better than you at something. Identify someone else's strengths and give them recognition for it. Let people know you admire them and why. It is a rare treat to receive a genuine compliment.

Everyone needs to feel respected. Everyone feels validated when others are kind and proud when others admire them.

Your words and your actions either tear people down or build them up. - Joseph Norman

Every action you take with others has meaning and has an effect upon that person. Keep this in mind, and act with care and compassion.

Repeat: The best way to feel your best is to help others. Using kindness, respect and admiration is the easiest way to help others.

Quote Lovers

2009-04-21T22:39:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you just need a good quote to get you back on the right track. Here are a few that might help!

Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt

Reading is no substitute for action. - Colleen Wainwright

The only way to have a friend is to be one. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality. - Ayn Rand

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have. - Thomas Jefferson

Do, or do not. There is no 'try'. - Yoda

If you are going through hell, keep going. - Sir Winston Churchill

If you can count your money, you don't have a billion dollars. - J. Paul Getty

It's kind of fun to do the impossible. - Walt Disney

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. - Samuel Johnson

A clever man commits no minor blunders. - Goethe

I have often regretted my speech, never my silence. - Xenocrates

When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. - Buckminster Fuller

He who hesitates is a damned fool. - Mae West

Well done is better than well said. - Benjamin Franklin

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. - Sir Winston Churchill

Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame. - Benjamin Franklin

The truth is more important then the facts. Frank Lloyd Wright

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. - Albert Einstein

Ray Major

2009-04-15T01:40:00.002-05:00

I met Ray during my high school years at the Windsor Central School District when he was teaching and coaching and I was competing in cross country and track and field. As is often the case, I didn’t fully appreciate his tremendous sense of humor and everything he had to say until after I moved away. Although he now lives in Texas, we have remained good friends and I consider him an absolutely remarkable man. Ray has two distinct passions in his life; education and lifetime fitness. Currently, he teaches Physical Education and Health at an elementary school in the Plainview Independent School District in Plainview, Texas. Enjoy his thoughts! - Joseph Norman

In the classroom today, what are a few things that you try to pass on to your students?

The number one thing in my classroom is that everyone has value and everyone deserves to experience some kind of success. And, I tell them that. I really believe that we all have different abilities and we all have strengths. Even though we have weaknesses, we all have strengths too and that is what we should focus on.

I’ve even pushed this farther by teaching my students and athletes that you have to have a love for it. You have to enjoy it. If you aren’t doing something for you, then maybe you aren’t doing it for the right reasons. It’s that extensive. I take it from my coaching right down to the elementary level where I now teach.

What got you into education?

Gary Vail was my PE teacher in the mid to late 70s. I wasn’t a very athletic kid, I didn’t play other sports well, and I was always one of the last people picked. But I just admired the way he did things. He would post the win-loss records of all the classes in the locker room and I thought that was impressive. So, 1) I’ve got this teacher that I absolutely admire, and, 2) I’m not a very athletic kid so I’m not really getting the playing time in PE that I probably could have. From that time I was thinking about going into Phys. Ed. for education.

Now, as for my running, I got my origins from a man named Gerry O’Donnell. I always admired him because even in his late 40s he was still running with us. And, he always believed in me. I didn’t make it to the state meet but he took me with him. He wrote me a really nice letter at graduation. And, I think that is where my love of running started.

At that time running was a little more extrinsic and just for the rewards. Now it is more intrinsic, but at that time I had things I wanted to accomplish with my running. That’s what kept me running back then.

Why physical education?

I was always the one that organized the pick up games when I was a kid. I even kept stats during the games. If my brother ran the ball, I would step it off and mark up a piece of paper that he just got five yards. Who does that? My old friends still joke about it.

And, I was the type of kid that could never sit still. I was constantly moving. My grade school years I got in trouble because I could never sit still.

As I recall, almost everyday you eat lunch with students. Tell me a little bit about this habit of yours...

The number one reason I do it is for the pure enjoyment of seeing the kids get excited and looking forward to something. And, the second thing is a bit selfish, but it is the fact that I get to be with a small group. It might be two kids or it might be twelve, but just the pleasure I get from having a small group at some point during the day is a wonderful reward for me because I usually have classes of 40 or so.

What keeps you running?

Early on my running was more extrinsic. You go to a road race and win a trophy or something. But, collegiately the value came more from the opportunity to travel and enjoy the camaraderie with my teammates. After that it really got to the physiological high that you get from the runs. Quite simply it became an addiction. Now it is more of a stress reliever and social thing. There is still the love for running even though the obstacles of old age and angry joints are there. So, where I’m at now is just enjoying the connection with nature.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ray is known for his rhymes. This is the beginning of a recent rendition he gave to his parents at parent-teacher conference night in Plainview.

Health and fitness is important all the time
That’s why I wrote the following rhyme
I was watching CNN
I think it was around ten
The news was about a flight attendant who made up a rap
Because during a safety debriefing, the passengers sat their like saps
I figured if he can do it on a plane
I can talk about how activity stimulates the brain
We don’t have to make fitness a whole lot harder
Even a little bit will make you smarter
You see fitness helps pump blood easier to the mind
This can help you solve problems of many kinds
It doesn’t matter the activity that you do
Grab a partner if it will help you
Baseball, basketball, even soccer
Get those sneakers out of the locker
If you golf, don’t use a cart
Walking the course is better for your heart...

Final thoughts?

I don’t know if this directly applies, but I feel like it might. My mother died just recently on April 3. Not my step mother, but my real one. And, that is the first parent I’ve lost. It has kind of set me back but it has also helped me realize that you’ve got to be grateful for what you have while you’re here.

When I get that over-ambition to do more and train more, I try to remember now and then that it’s okay to step back and just enjoy it. Sometimes we all need that gentle reminder that it’s best to take time and appreciate what you have rather than just rush through life.

Ray can be reached by email at: RPMmajor@yahoo.com

Relentless

2009-04-15T01:39:00.003-05:00

By: Ben DeGeorge

You can measure your current level of relentlessness by one thing; the amount of time between thinking about calling someone and actually calling.

One skill that you need to master in order to fulfill your potential is the ability to effectively act without any hesitation in all situations. This takes a lot of time to master.

So, start very small.

Practice by picking up the phone and immediately make important phone call after phone call without any thinking transitions. You will save a lot of time and energy and your phone conversation charisma will sky rocket. Most importantly this builds habits that you can later apply to bigger things.

A lot of people have trouble with this, especially today with the ability to hide behind the convenience of checking email. But, you don't want to be like a lot of people or else you would not be reading this.

I know it seems kind of goofy, but you should focus on your phone call transition speed and move upward from there.

Paradoxically, the less you think about yourself and your fears, the more you will succeed. People who fail spend too much time thinking about their problems, not planning or acting to beat them.

"Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense." - Winston Churchill

Mark Gillespie

2009-04-07T09:05:00.002-05:00

This week we are featuring an interview with Mark Gillespie, the Editor in Chief of the Livingston County News. Mark is a well respected community member, friend of The VIP Guys and caring father of three. He has done newspaper work in Alaska and Kentucky, public radio in Alaska, and public relations at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and Emporia State University. Now he resides in Livonia, NY and is dedicated to the long term growth of the Livingston County News! Please give his interview a read! You will learn about the impact one can have on the community, the future of the newspaper business, Mark’s philosophy of success! - Ben DeGeorge

BIW: How do you define success?

Success is a very personal thing. It’s hard to point to a stereotype of success, because sometimes people are successful in ways that others consider to be failures. In my particular case, I feel I am successful because I am in a job that gives me a lot of freedom and creativity. I have a lot of respect from the people I work with and the people in this community.It’s harder for someone like me to quantify success in terms that are measurable, because money is second to me.

BIW: From your perspective as Editor in Chief of the Livingston County News, what is the toughest part about being in the newspaper industry?

I think the toughest part is to be fair to everybody, especially when you work in a medium with limited space. The hardest thing is when someone comes to us, with a good story, and we can’t satisfy them because there are not enough pages in the paper to cover the story. It is tough to make that judgment call. When you hear the criteria that often determines whether a story gets in, it might surprise you.

How well written is the press release? Is the article the right length? How focused is the accompanying picture? I have to make these decisions so quickly. A lot of it also comes down to the work that we have to do. If someone asks for us to bring a photographer to the event, it will cost us money. On the other hand, it makes it a lot easier if they send a nice picture and a written story.

BIW: Many regional publications in the US are going out of business. The Livingston County News carries local news stories that keep government officials in check, the public educated and the community built up. It has a very important place in this community and is widely acclaimed. Why does the LCN have a stable future?

Big newspapers around the country are suffering, particularly those serving major markets. Any newspaper that operates on a daily basis, in a market with multiple television stations, radio stations and other outlets to get community information are in trouble. You can now get movie times on your cell phones, rather than in the newspaper. The era of chopping down trees and stamping out a paper with ink and using gasoline run cars to deliver it are numbered. It is a woefully inefficient system for information.

The Livingston County News is surviving because we have a monopoly on local news. We have very little competition, and it’s unlikely we will have lasting competition. However, it is cheaper and faster to deliver the news by electronic means, and we have to look towards that end in the future.
I think a lot of people fall into the trap of only reading what they agree with, online, and I hope that local journalism does not fall that way.

BIW: What is your vision for the LCN?

We have to be able to deliver information to our readers however they would like it. There is tremendous demand for a newspaper, but some may want news alerts to their cell phones. Home owners are interested in how their tax money is spent, community members like to see their kids sport team in the paper. We have a balancing act ahead of us, and need to know how to evolve to cover all bases.

I have full plans to make sure that the Livingston County news stays relevant at least into the middle of this century. I have no plans to up and move any time soon. I want to see this move from a print weekly, to being something that Livingston County has not yet seen, a constant source for updated community information.

BIW: Livingston County is unique in how tightly knit it is. This has been evident for me having grown up and then coming to school here. How has that affected your work?

All of my journalism experience has been in small towns. One thing that a small town newspaper has to remember is that we cannot be as aggressive in news gathering as we would be in a larger community, because everyone is so close, and we do not want to burn bridges. We have a great relationship with all of the local government and municipalities. They trust us. They trust that we are not out there every week looking for stories to slam them, but when a genuine story comes up, we will cover it. We wait on things to happen, instead of speculating. I ask myself, “Will the magic number of 1,000 people be interested in this story?”

BIW: What is the best part of your job?

The ability to sort of exist outside of societies expectations. We get to cover stories from the outside in. This allows us to exercise a sort of racy humor in the office and to not take our work terribly seriously. I think a lot of corporate environments are missing this today.

BIW: What is your advice to individuals in the US that may be struggling due to economic woes?

One of the reasons we got into this problem in the first place is because so many people were living beyond their means. People had desires that outstripped their abilities to pay for them. I think my advice right now is to be as frugal as possible, take the disposable income that you may have and invest your time wisely. There are also many incredibly rewarding things that you can do with your free time that don’t cost you any money. It doesn’t cost any money to go into the back yard and throw a ball around with your child. It doesn’t cost any money to go and have a picnic.

BIW: What are the necessary success factors for newspapers in this troubling time?

This is easy for a small town newspaper to answer. Each newspaper is challenged to find its unique selling point and bring that to the forefront. If you are opening up a pizza parlor in a downtown college town, it is challenging to put your finger on what makes it unique to others. But our newspaper has a unique selling point. We chronicle the life and times of Livingston County. We bolster people’s self esteem by featuring human accomplishments or achievements. We provide a forum for policing wrongdoing in government and private life. And, we mark the passage of time. Every issue that we put out has something that ties in with the season or week.

BIW: Please tell our readers about your family! I hear them screaming in the background of this phone interview.

I have three daughters. One of them turns nine this year. She lives near Chapel Hill, NC. I have two other daughters with my second wife, Jasmin Baron. They are CJ who is three and a half years old and Eliza who just turned two. I live in a nice historic house in Livonia. I enjoy a quiet small town life.

BIW: What do you do in your free time? What do you consider hobbies?

I love to read about history. I am also a big movie buff. I try to see movies whenever I can. I try to see all of the best picture nominees every time the academy awards come out.

I am a huge consumer of online news. Every day I have about thirty or forty websites that I check up on. I am fascinated by how journalism is evolving that way. I don’t think there is a big gap anymore between online and print journalism.

BIW: What are your favorite movies?

No Country for Old Men last year was incredible. I am interested in movies that help people solve a mental puzzle. I am not so much into movies that put characters into physical harm, or the formulaic romantic comedies. I like movies that ask a lot from the audience.

BIW: What would be your advice for anyone who wants to get into the news industry?

Diversify. Don’t pick one of the big three; newspapers, TV or radio. Make sure you know how to write in clear Associated Press journalism style. Make sure you know how to operate a tape recorder, a video and still camera. When you go to an employer, you need to be ready to act as the jack of all trades.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer went out of business and re-launched itself as an online publication. It went from an editorial staff of 78 to a staff of about 20. The people who are successful have to be able to reach the audience however the audience wants to be reached.

Final thoughts, Mark?

I hope that our readers do read news, and take an interest in how the local and state government is spending our tax money. I hope that they question everything that they see, and don’t take what journalists write to be the gospel truth.

Thanks Mark!

Mark Gillespie, Editor and Chief of the Livingston County News can be reached by email at mark@livingstonnews.com

BB&T Corp & Principled Leadership

2009-04-07T08:50:00.002-05:00

By: Joseph Norman

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle

Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to John Allison, Chairman of BB & T Corporation, deliver a talk about Principled Leadership at the University of Central Florida. Essentially he walked through the corporate philosophy at BB & T which he helped develop over the last decade.

The truth is that the people that have become truly successful in this world didn’t take shortcuts. They consistently did the right thing even in the face of adversity or lack of support from others. The 10 BB&T Values are a good model of how we can consistently do the right thing in our own lives.

Without further adieu:

Reality (Fact-Based). What is, is. If we want to be better, we must act within the context of reality (the facts).

Reason (Objectivity). We cannot all be geniuses, but each of us can develop the mental habits which ensure that when making decisions we carefully examine the facts and think logically without contradiction in deriving a conclusion.

Independent Thinking. All human progress by definition is based on creativity, because creativity is the source of positive change. Creativity is only possible to an independent thinker. Creativity is not about just doing something different. It is about doing something better.

Productivity. In a long term context and in a free market, the bigger the profit, the better. Healthy profits represent productive work.

Honesty. Being honest is simply being consistent with reality. To be honest does not require that we know everything. Knowledge is always contextual and man is not omniscient. However, we must be responsible for saying what we mean and meaning what we say.

Integrity. Principles provide carefully thought-out concepts which will lead to our long-term success and happiness. We should always act consistently with our principles.

Justice (Fairness). In evaluating other people, it is critical that we judge based on essentials. Individuals must be judged individually based on their personal merits, not their membership in any group.

Pride. Pride is the psychological reward we earn from living by our values, i.e., from being just, honest, having integrity, being an independent thinker, being productive and rational.

Self-Esteem (Self-Motivation). A necessary attribute for self-esteem is self-motivation. You receive from your work in proportion to how much you contribute.

Teamwork / Mutual Supportiveness. While independent thought and strong personal goals are critically important, work is often accomplished within teams. Each of us must consistently act to achieve the agreed-upon objectives of the team, with respect for our fellow team members, while acting in a mutually supportive manner.

Developing your own set of values is not an easy task, but it is a crucial one! My hope is that some of BB&T’s values resonate with you and help you make your own world a better place.

Ginger Walker

2009-03-31T18:32:00.005-05:00

Ginger Walker is a Managing Principle at Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Company. In her work she directs sales for the company throughout the Eastern United States and Canada. Although she’s proved herself well in the sales arena, Ginger has also had an admirable career in the United States Air Force. She finished active duty in 1994 as the first female squadron commander for an international NATO wing. At that point, she moved to Rochester, New York to be closer to her parents while she raised her two children, Shaun and Remy, and began her civilian career! Now she resides in Celebration, Florida.

“You don’t get what you deserve in life. You get what you negotiate.” - Ginger Walker

What is your definition of success?

To me it is personal happiness and I bucket that into three categories; happiness, health, and wealth. Wealth is everything from the monetary aspect of having enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle to non-monetary personal wealth in the relationships you have in your life and the enjoyment you find in the activities you take on.

What was one of the biggest challenges you faced transitioning from active duty to civilian living?

One of the biggest challenges that I had going from active duty in the military to civilian living was the lack of camaraderie and lack of leadership I observed. I was absolutely blown away by the lack of leadership when I got into the corporate world.

The other thing that I noticed was the generally poor attitudes of people that I worked with. I remember sitting in a staff meeting and listening to all the whining and saying, “You know guys, a bad day at the office is when you sit down at the end of a mission to debrief and you don’t have the same number of people sitting around the table as you did in the beginning! That is a bad day at the office!” They all looked at me like I was crazy. But, it was my reality. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to suck it up and get the work done.

Having been on both sides of the coin, what is your opinion in terms of “supporting our troops?”

To me, it’s a bit of a political phrase or buzz word because when it comes right down to it, there is not a whole lot that we can do as civilians with the exception of a few things; we should all be hanging an American flag outside and thanking our troops for their service when we see them. I travel a lot now, so when I see a person in uniform I always make it a point to walk up to them and say, “Hey, thank you for your service.” It seems like fewer and fewer people are doing that now though.
There are some organizations you can get involved with though that do letter campaigning and things of that nature. In many cases, they’re a valuable support option as well.

What are some of your hobbies?

I enjoy reading and I’m looking to get back into golf. Now that my boys are both out on their own, I’m getting to that stage where I’m looking forward to getting involved with more things in the community here in Celebration.

Ginger can be reached by email at: GingerAnnWalker@gmail.com