Newsletter for April 2005:
March Into April
Contents:
- This Months Thought
- March Into April!
- Quotes of the Month
- Strictly Business: Your TEAM for Achievement
- Humor: Very Punny!
This Months Thought
This Spring, take time for yourself. Take time to get away with a notebook or planner, and get organized. Write down your dreams, and create paths to their realization. You CAN get from "here" to "there"; it only requires an effective strategy, a bit of time, and some hard work! Spring is the time to make it happen.
March Into April
Spring has arrived in Texas - our trees are budding and the blue bonnets and Indian paint brushes are in full bloom. Along with the blue bonnets are the hordes of people out with cameras taking family portraits surrounded by a sea of blue and their all beautiful. When I go for my morning walk/run the sun is just breaking over the horizon as apposed to the total darkness of winter and I notice a LOT more birds singing! Spring is here!
That is important for many reasons, but most important is that the return of spring means it's time to take a look at the road ahead.
There are three times a year when it seems natural to pause, review the past and preview the future. The most common, and I think the LEAST helpful is New Year's. Now, your experience may be different, but for me New Year's is too caught up with year-end business and holiday celebrations to plan effectively. And most tragically, it's cold and dark outside! Who wants to design a life in the cold rain of winter!?
Another good time to review what's working, note what's not working, and plan your future is the fall. In September, we're back from summer vacations, school is starting, and there's a sense of "settling in" for the winter, with things to do, projects to complete and work to be done.
The Spring, however, is my favorite and I've found it is the most powerful, most natural, and most optimistic time to plot my future.
In the Spring, the days are getting longer and warmer, and there's a sense of "buzz". There's energy and enthusiasm, everything is turning green, everything is growing, and anything is possible! Now is the time to SEIZE THE DAY, to seize the opportunities, to dream big dreams and develop strategies for success!
I know, Spring is a time for love, for flying kites and being playful - and I take that seriously as well! – but it's also the time to design your life. It's the time to ask big questions, to dare big dreams, and take big risks. At New Year's, everything is dead and even the weather is deadening. The Fall is a time for practicality, for buckling down and working hard, for raking leaves, putting on the storm windows and getting ready for winter. But Spring is the time for adventure! Spring is the time for dreams and amazing, wonderful, astonishing visions of the future.
Don't waste the glory of Spring! Use these longer days! Use the extra light to illuminate the future you really want! Use the energy the sun is throwing at us to pick up the pace, to embolden your step, and to "spring forward!"
This Spring, take time for yourself! Take time to get away with a notebook or planner, and get organized. Write down your dreams, and create paths to their realization. You CAN get from "here" to "there"; it only requires an effective strategy, a bit of time, and some hard work! This Spring is the time to make it happen. If you want to work with someone who can help you explore the possibilities, create a path and reach for the stars email me at: rodger@rodgerblaker.com
Quotes of the Month
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming - WOW! -- What A Ride!" -- Author Unknown
"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." -- George Bernard Shaw
"Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow." -- Doug Firebaugh
"He's no failure. He's not dead yet." -- William Lloyd George
Strictly Business: Your TEAM for Achievement
The poet wrote that "no man is an island' and that is certainly true for business people. By definition, business flourishes in the "market-place", with vendors and suppliers, staff and employees, and customers swirling all around! Its how business gets done.
At the same time, however, too many business people feel alone. In some micro- businesses, one person is quite literally the owner, the manager, the staff, the janitor and the bookkeeper. That can be lonely and inefficient. Trying to work from home, or a one-person office can be distracting and (at times) depressing.
Even if you work with other people, however, too often the feeling or sense is still that we are "all alone", especially if you are in a position of leadership.
One of the most valuable resources any entrepreneur, professional or small business leader can have is a Master Mind team of safe, trusted, colleagues who will listen and advise you. Having a TEAM of people who will be honest with you, who understand your challenges and will share their wisdom can be a HUGE advantage!
If you don't have a "kitchen cabinet" or unofficial "board of directors", get one! That may sound strong or even arrogant, but the poet was right - none of us functions at our best when we have to do it all ourselves. Get a team. Get some advisors you trust, people who know and understand your situation, people who do NOT compete with you and who will not play games. Meet with them once a week for a business breakfast, and help each other to be your BEST.
If you don't have a TEAM and would like to be part of a structured group led by a professional Coach, I invite you to join up with me to form one. This group will be limited to 8 people and will be open on a first come, first serve bases. We will meet 6 times from April through June. Check it out, and send me an email at rodger@rodgerblaker.com so we can schedule an initial phone call! I invite you to join!
Humor: Very Punny!
I know I have a real weird sense of humor and my taste may be totally different than yours but the following puns made me laugh – well some more than others. The truth is, these things are awful but I had to share them with you. I hope you enjoy this weirdness as much as I do! Here we go:
- A backward poet writes inverse.
- A man's home is his castle, in a manor of speaking.
- A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two tired.
- A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
- Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.
- Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
- Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.
- When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.
- What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway.)
- In democracy your vote counts. In feudalism your count votes.
- A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
- Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft, and... I'll show you A-flat minor.
- The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.
- A Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.
- Every calendar's days are numbered.
- A lot of money is tainted -- it taint yours and it taint mine.
- A plateau is a high form of flattery.
- Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.
- Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.
- Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
- Acupuncture is a jab well done.
Rodger Blaker works with small business owners who want to grow their business and create an extraordinary life! For info on resources for your success, visit: http://www.rodgerblaker.com
GIVE A GIFT TO A FRIEND! Please forward this copy to your friends and colleagues! That's how I grow!