....70 percent of employees are "disengaged"

The Gallup Organization, famous for its research, estimates that 70 percent of employees are "disengaged," meaning they’re no longer committed to the company. It's evident in positions from executive officers to front-line employees. This "I don't care" attitude is hurting businesses in a big way. What’s going on? Why all the apathy? It could be that the wrong employees are being rewarded.

Most organizations want to blame employee apathy on wages and benefits, but they actually do not play a big role in why people stop caring about their jobs. The overwhelming majority of employees stop caring because of the way they are treated every day. Surveys show that lack of appreciation, lack of teamwork and the perception that the company doesn't care about loyal employees are consistently the highest-ranked reasons for low job satisfaction.

Many managers are nice people who manage by negative reinforcement—demonstrated not by what they do but, rather, by what they don't do. Chances are, these same managers are focusing their energy and attention on those employees with behavioral problems. If loyal employees aren't recognized and appreciated for their contributions, they'll be far less motivated to care about the success of the company. Sometimes, even the best employees will go through rough spots but will bounce back with more energy and loyalty when the company stands behind them with clearly defined expectations, quality training and positive feedback.

Gallup estimates that actively disengaged workers in the United States miss 118.3 million more work days per year than their actively engaged counterparts. Harder to measure are their higher healthcare, workers’ compensation, and safety costs.

But disengaged employees who show up and simply go through the motions of work cause the biggest problem. It's reflected in everything they don't do and their constant complaints. It's the negative effect their attitudes have on their co-workers and customers. This problem has become so common as to create a new word, "presenteeism."

Gallup found that the cumulative effect of disengaged employees consistently reduces customer loyalty, sales and profit margins. An "I don’t care" attitude by employees translates to an "I don't care to do business with you" attitude by customer.

Sorry...but I care too much and have far too much pride in my work.....to simply go through the motions. That must be what sets me apart from the 70% that do.....

...we can do it!

In 1942, a UPI photographer visited a metal pressing factory outside Detroit and took a snapshot of a slim, fresh-faced brunette leaning over a machine. The picture enchanted the graphic artist J. Howard Miller, who had been hired by the Westinghouse Company to design a series of motivational posters aimed at boosting female factory workers’ morale.

He incorporated a pretty young subject’s face and polka-dot headscarf into one of the posters, which features a determined-looking woman flexing her right bicep under the slogan “We Can Do It!”

President Roosevelt calls in January, 1942 for production of 60,000 planes, 45,000 tanks, 20,000 antiaircraft guns, and 6 million deadweight tons of merchant shipping. His $59 billion budget submitted January 7 has more than $52 billion earmarked for the war effort, whose emphasis is initially on stopping Hitler in Europe.

With American men enlisting in the war effort, the work force quickly diminished. Who would "man" the assembly lines in the factories to produce the many needed items for the current war? Filling a gross shortage of manpower, through the factory gates flooded an army of woman power. Mothers, daughters, secretaries, wives and even schoolgirls picked up the factory duties the men had left behind.

More than six million female workers helped to build planes, bombs, tanks and other weapons that would eventually win World War II. They stepped up to the plate without hesitation and gave up their domestic jobs to accomplish things that only men had done before them. They became streetcar drivers, operated heavy construction machinery, worked in lumber and steel mills, unloaded freight and much more. Proving that they could do the jobs known as "men’s work" created an entirely new image of women in American society, and set the stage for upcoming generations.

One very important worker was ‘Rosie the Riveter’ ….the name given to the woman depicted on many of the propaganda posters. In the most famous one, she is wearing that red and white bandana to cover her hair, and she has rolled back the sleeve of her blue coverall to expose a flexed bicep. The expression on her face was confident and determined. The caption above her head reads, "We Can Do It!" in bold letters.

That woman was ….Geraldine Hoff Doyle, the real-life inspiration behind the iconic poster, who died on December 26 in Lansing, Michigan, at the age of 86. Just 17 when the photographer captured her, she had taken a factory job after graduating high school, one of 6 million women who entered the workforce during World War II to plug gaping holes in the industrial labor force.

Decades later, the poster became one of America’s most recognizable emblems of women’s empowerment, spawning countless imitations and reproduced on everything from mugs and magnets to postage stamps.

Actually, more than four decades would go by before Doyle learned of the poster’s existence and discovered that her likeness had inspired a pop culture reference. Paging through a magazine one day in 1984, she spotted a photograph of the poster and recognized her younger self.

In a 2002 interview with the Lansing State Journal, Doyle, who began making frequent appearances in Michigan to sign posters, explained that motherhood and daily life had kept her too busy to realize she had become the face of Rosie the Riveter. "I was changing diapers all the time," she said.

One of many in Miller’s series, the poster was barely seen outside Westinghouse factories in the Midwest, where women were making plastic helmet liners. It was not until later, when feminists rediscovered the poster during the 1970s and 1980s, that it achieved its iconic status and became associated with the World War II-era character.

Despite the way they were discarded at the end of the war, these female workers had much to do with the success of the United States during World War II and their contribution should not be forgotten. In a very direct way, women helped win the war.

Thanks Rosie!! We "could" do it once before...but I wonder if we still can today...to be honest.

...can Napoleon Pete survive?

The story of three envelopes is a business classic for dysfunctional organizations. It starts with an incoming 'my way or the highway CEO' replacing a recently fired outgoing CEO.

Pete had just been hired as the new CEO of a large high tech corporation. The CEO who was stepping down met with him privately and presented him with three envelopes number 1, 2 and 3. "Open these if you run up against a problem you don't think you can solve," … “when things get really tough, open these one at a time." the departing CEO said.

Things went along pretty smoothly, but six months later, sales took a downturn and Pete was really catching a lot of heat. About at his wit's end, he remembered the envelopes. He went to his drawer and took out the first envelope. The message read, "Blame your predecessor." Pete called a press conference and tactfully laid the blame at the feet of the previous CEO. He concocts a story that pins the problems on the previous CEO and deftly sidesteps blame for the issue.

Satisfied with his comments, the press -- and Wall Street -- responded positively, sales began to pick up and the problem was soon behind him.

About a year later, the company was again experiencing a dip in sales, combined with serious product problems. Having learned from his previous experience, the CEO quickly opened the second envelope. The message read, "Reorganize!" …. “Blame your coworkers,” it advises. He does, and once again avoids taking the fall for a problem he caused.

This he did well (blaming others), and the company quickly rebounded.

After several consecutive profitable quarters, the company once again fell on difficult times. Pete went to his office, closed the door and opened the third envelope. The message said, "Prepare three envelopes." ...

A person’s character can be neatly judged when we see how they handle mistakes or tough times. We are all human; we all fail. When confronted with that failure, our next move paints a picture of how we handle responsibility and blame. Do you step up and really own the problem, or do you reach for an envelope?

Good people step up. They acknowledge the problem, accept the blame, and work hard to correct the problem. It is a sad commentary on our world today that most people are pleasantly surprised when you do this. While you may not be able to completely rectify the problem, you will earn some measure of respect by taking ownership of the issue. The problem may not be fixed, but your character is intact.

Bad people step away. They look to blame anyone except themselves, and will sacrifice anyone to protect themselves. Blaming predecessors and coworkers will work for a while, but you will eventually run out of envelopes. The problems remain, but you will not. And your character will be irreparably tarnished….or your nose will continue to grow like someone I (thought) I used to know…..

Sales drive the company mister!....not a predecessor on paper.

....not a square to spare....

How in the world did we get to this point? What happened? When did we decide as a country that we need to be 'politically correct' about everything? On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department called on Americans to "stand up" and denounce the planned Quran burning as "un-American" and as an inappropriate commemoration of the 9/11 attacks.

I can certainly sympathize with the great responsibility political leaders have in our country during this time of tragedy. I understand that they must be careful to do their part in restraining and discouraging any persecution of citizens of Middle Eastern descent.

However, we have reached a point of "politically correct" insanity. When our country was founded, "toleration" never meant approval or agreement. Suddenly, many of our political leaders and media spokesmen have become theologians, teaching the country that there is no difference in the major religions and that it somehow "hatred of people" to teach that another religion is false.

What's in this book that is sacred that it cannot be looked upon as producing evil? Let's state some facts that are in the book...shall we?

---"Believers, do not make friends with any but your own people...They desire nothing but your ruin....You believe in the entire Book...When they meet you they say: 'We, too, are believers.' But when alone, they bite their finger-tips with rage." (Surah 3:118, 119)

---"Forbidden to you are...married women, except those you own as slaves." (Surah 4:20-, 24-)

---"Seek out your enemies relentlessly." (Surah 4:103-)

---"Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (Surah 5:51)

---"Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them." (Surah 9:121-)

---"Try as you may, you cannot treat all your wives impartially." (Surah 4:126-)

---"...make war on the leaders of unbelief...Make war on them: God will chastise them at your hands and humble them. He will grant you victory over them..." (Surah 9:12-)

---"Prophet make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home." (Surah 9:73)

What? This is Holy Scripture? How did we get to this point?

Well...for them, Jews and Christians are regarded as being part of the great mass of infidels: first, because they have deliberately rejected the truth, and second, because of their connections to Western colonialism and Zionism. Both Jews and Christians are viewed as being part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to corrupt, divide and destroy Islam. This effort was instigated by the Jews and Christians of the 7th century, and it continues down through today.

The Obama administration is working on changing the language of the National Security Strategy to more politically-correct terminology. Counterterrorism officials say the goal of the new version is to emphasize that the United States does not view Muslim nations through the lens of terrorism.

The National Security Strategy document, which outlined the Bush Doctrine of preventive war, currently states: "The struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century."

During a visit to Cairo last year, President Obama promised a ‘new beginning’ in the relationship between the United States and the Muslim world. "Do you want to think about the U.S. as the nation that fights terrorism or the nation you want to do business with," said National Security Council staffer Pradeep Ramamurthy, who runs the Obama administration’s Global Engagement Directorate.

Karen Hughes, who served as President Bush’s top diplomat to the Muslim world in his second term, urged the White House to avoid using religious language. “Whenever they hear 'Islamic extremism, Islamic jihad, Islamic fundamentalism,' they perceive it as a sort of an attack on their faith. That's the world view Osama bin Laden wants them to have,” Hughes said.

This nation and much of the Western world are in a war, not against a generic "terrorism" but against a particular and brutal strain of Islamic extremism that wants to do as much damage as possible to our freedoms and way of life.

George W. Bush was wrong to call this the "War on Terror." But he was right to focus on it as he did in the aftermath of the murderous and cowardly Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America by Islamic extremists.

Politically correct I have never been....so allow my point of view. No one would say a word if someone in Yemen wanted to burn a Bible.

So lay low terrorists and all will be well....stir it up...lay your rugs and blankets in the middle of the street to pray during rush hour traffic...build a shiny mosque near 'ground-zero'....and someday you will get your ass kicked. You may have our president and leaders fooled...but the average person can see right thru your bullshit.

...remember the 'Pelican Brief?'

1993: In suburban Georgetown a killer’s Reeboks whisper on the front floor of a posh home… In a seedy D.C. porno house a patron is swiftly strangled to death… The next day America learns that two of its Supreme Court justices have been assassinated. And in New Orleans, a young law student prepares a legal brief… To Darby Shaw it was no more than a legal shot in the dark, a brilliant guess. To the Washington establishment it was political dynamite.

Darby Shaw, a Tulane University Law School student, decides to research the two justices' records and cases pending before the Court, suspecting the real motive might be simple greed, not politics. She writes a legal brief speculating that the assassinations were committed on behalf of Victor Mattiece, an oil tycoon wanting to drill for oil on Louisiana marshland which is a major habitat of an endangered breed of pelicans. A court case on appeal, filed on his behalf to gain access to the land, is expected to make its way to the Supreme Court.

Suddenly Darby is witness to a murder — a murder intended for her. Going underground, she finds there is only one person she can trust — an ambitious reporter after a newsbreak hotter than Watergate — to help her piece together the deadly puzzle. Somewhere between the bayous of Louisiana and the White House’s inner sanctums, a violent cover-up is being engineered. For someone has read Darby’s brief. Someone who will stop at nothing to destroy the evidence of an unthinkable crime….but wait, was the crime the murders or the off-shore drilling?

2010: In the month since an offshore drilling platform exploded, killing 11 workers, BP has struggled to stop the leak, trying in vain to activate emergency valves and lowering a 100-ton box that got clogged with icy crystals. Over the weekend, the oil company finally succeeded in using a stopper-and-tube combination to siphon some of the gushing oil into a tanker, but millions of gallons are already in the Gulf.

Oil spills have long been known to wreak havoc on coastlines, blackening otherwise sandy beaches and killing off birds, turtles, fish and other wildlife. This time could be even worse. Louisiana’s coastline, which has become the latest battleground against oil’s slimy march, is made up of miles and miles of delicate marshland — shallow waters comprised of high emerald green grass.

This habitat is a perfect breeding ground for small fish, shrimp and crabs that support a multimillion—dollar fishing industry. Exotic animals like alligators also reside in Louisiana’s swamps, while a huge variety of birds attract watchers to the state’s national parks.

Louisiana’s fragile marshes face long—term destruction if the grass comes into contact with some of the heavy oil that is making its way through the Gulf of Mexico….and now

…. Chemicals being sprayed underwater are helping to disperse the oil and keep it from washing ashore in great quantities, but researchers said that in recent days they have discovered miles-long underwater plumes of oil that could poison or suffocate sea life across the food chain, with damage that could last for a decade or more.

....snap!! Wake-up...this isn't a book..and BP doesn't know what to do...

...get well Mr. B....papa loves you!

Today I feel like I have died. The news of 'Mr. B' was not good...he has a swelling of the brain and was diagnosed with encephalitis. He is in intensive-care at the hospital.

Young dogs, primarily but not exclusively small breeds, can occasionally develop encephalitis.

A more common form of encephalitis in dogs is immune-based (which seems to be the case with Dillan). This means the body's own white blood cells (the cells that normally fight infections) are attacking the normal brain. Commonly called GME (granulomatous meningoencephalitis), this type of immune encephalitis has a "bad rap." The veterinary literature portrays this disease as fatal, but this is often not the case.

Common clinical signs of encephalitis are confusion, bumping into things, imbalance and stumbling....all of which Dillan portrayed. The MRI combined with examination of spinal fluid can provide an accurate diagnosis and lead us to corrective treatment....we are awaiting the spinal test information later today.

I don't care what the Internet says about the long-term life of a dog after being diagnosed with this stupid ass decease...I love my Mr. B and he will survive this! We have stabilized him and he is no longer in pain...

Of course I am angry. Why? Mainly because my neighbor of 10 years has a dog that lives in her backyard, 24/7, with no human touch...no love...no warmth...and that "barking bastard" is still alive and in good health.

Know why Mr. B will make it? Because I believe that God would never let such a wonderful dog be taken from us...not yet! I love you Mr. B!!

a wedge or 9-iron?.....

Tiger Woods has cancelled plans to attend his own golf tournament in southern California because of injuries he suffered near his Florida home early Friday, the pro golfer said in a statement today.

"I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week," Woods said of the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, California. "I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I'm very sorry that I can't be there." He also canceled a Tuesday news conference for the start of the tournament, which helps raise money for Tiger Woods Foundation programs.

As Tiger Wreck Watch 2009 lurches into its fourth day with little new information, fans and media are combing over every element of this case. There's brick wall after brick wall in this story, but one of the largest and most well-fortified is this: just who is Elin Nordegren Woods, anyway?

If you were to design the perfect wife for a privacy-hungry superstar like Tiger Woods, she'd look a whole lot like Elin -- low-key, accustomed to celebrity, and, from all appearances on the golf course, totally devoted to her husband's career. But does that change behind closed doors?

Which is what makes the current questions about her recent behavior -- why did she smash a window in Tiger's Escalade? Is she responsible for his injuries? Did she beat his ass with a wedge or 9-iron?

"The only person responsible for the accident is me," Woods said. "My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false." (As he flinched when she walked into the room).

Tiger Woods has shot down rumours his wife Elin was trying to attack him before the car crash outside their house, saying she "acted courageously" and "was the first person to help me". (OK Tiger...we get it, she was there first...but did she hit you?)

Who is Elin Nordegren Woods?  The facts about her: She grew up in Stockholm, and while she did some modeling in her teens, the idea that she was a "Swedish supermodel" is one of those urban legends. But she was around the world of golf long before she met Woods, serving as the nanny to golfer Jesper Parnevik. She met Tiger at the 2001 British Open, and it wasn't exactly a romantic introduction for the ages.

According to SI, Tiger was so nervous about asking her out that he had a friend do it for him. Initially, she declined. But Woods persisted, she relented, and they married in a lavish $1.5 million ceremony in Barbados. That wedding was the stuff of tabloid heaven, with Hootie and the Blowfish as the house band and Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley in attendance.

Being married to the world's richest athlete (now one billion dollars) apparently has done little to change Elin's public persona. We don't see her doing reality shows, we don't see her on the covers of magazines every month, and aside from releasing some photos, she doesn't parade around her children seeking publicity. It's refreshing, really, to see someone in the limelight apparently unconcerned with the fame-hungry world of modern celebrity.

What's certain is that the Woods camp would love a mulligan on many elements of this case, and the image that's been created -- or, more accurately, not created -- of Elin up until Nov. 27 may very well be at the top of that list.

Have we finally found someone that can beat Tiger?

"The nature of terrorism is changing"

Let's be honest (even though the media and our President cannot be), the idiot that killed "our" soldiers, on "our" land is a terrorist! What was going through the mind of Army Major Nidal Makek Hasan as he fired hundreds of rounds into innocent soldiers and civilians at Ft. Hood, TX?

If you read most of the reports circulating through various media sources, Hasan was “stressed” and harassed” by his fellow soldiers. He was having “anxiety attacks” out of fear he would be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan (Allahu Akbar doesn't like it when Muslims harm Muslims). But that didn't stop him from taking tax money..."our" money to go to school.

So how is it that Americans are getting most of the real reporting on this tragedy from the British media rather than our own? It is the British that discovered his ties to Anwar-al-Awake, a radical Yemeni-American cleric with al-Qaeda ties! Please don’t tell me Interpol knew all this and the CIA didn’t!

Many American media services “dismiss” this dialog between the two as studies Major Hasan was conducting on U.S. Muslim soldiers and their emotions serving with the army.

If one is to believe the version being presented by most news sources at this time, Hasan was a lonely soldier who had a personal “meltdown” because of his fear of deployment to a war zone. He was a Palestinian immigrant with just a healthy conscious. The media must think I am an idiot.

Nowhere other than a very few American experts and the British media is it being told about eye witness accounts to his bizarre behavior for many months before the massacre.

And why is that? Could it be that those who favor “political correctness” are reaching for the “victim card” rather than the very possible answer of organized terrorism within our own military? General George Casey, the Army chief of staff, was on the Sunday talk shows warning against “jumping to conclusions.”

Yet, here is a man in a responsible position, a Muslim and a track record for religious radicalism, proclaimed “Allahu Akbar” – “God is great” as he opened fire on scores of innocent and unarmed people.Remember... it was Osama Ben-Laden who referred to Americans after the “Black Hawk Down” incident in Somalia as “the soft part of our struggle.”

Will we as Americans dismiss this act of terrorism as just another criminal act? Will Hasan be judged by the media and have an “O.J. trial”? How long will this country stand by and allow this to happen?

Is there even one “apologizer” for this murderer who doesn’t think that people who want nothing more than to disrupt American lives and kill us are smiling? The reaction thus far can only ignite their efforts to pursue even more outrageous behavior elsewhere.

And if you were them and you’ve already penetrated and destroyed our landmarks and the military in their beds, what’s there to stop them more outrageous targets with more “experts” begging us to forgive their troubled souls. Give me a break! Those people laying dead on the floor were the victims...not this idiot with a gun. It is almost as if it is "trendy" to root for the Muslims...no matter what they do (shhhh! yelling “Allahu Akbar” – “God is great” before you fire-off a few hundred rounds does not mean you are a terrorist).

After another deadly attack on American citizens on U.S. soil, authorities are busy reassuring Muslims that they have nothing to fear – from Americans!

--Some Muslims fear backlash after rampage: In the wake of Fort Hood tragedy, U.S. authorities try to assure that faithful steps are being taken to keep Muslim followers safe.--

I’m just waiting for some PhD to come on a talk show and call critics of Major Nidal Malik Hasan racists....because isn't that what we do when we "don't like the way we are being addressed?"

No wonder Muslims are so confused and torn. Referencing the Koran:

1. If you don't believe, "you are condemned to hell" (Koran 9:49, 9:68, 9:73)

2. If you don't believe, "your head is cut off" (Koran 8:12, 47:4)

3. If you don't believe, "you're set on fire" (Koran 33:64, 48:13, 76:4)

4. If you don't believe, "burning oil is burned down your throat." (Koran 18:29, 44:43-46)

They are not sure if this is scripture or a horror movie...this sounds like something Clive Barker wrote. This is what Hasan read outloud at a medical conference (and was then promoted to Major).

"The nature of terrorism is changing"

Was I the odd man out?

Every business organization has a unique set of challenges and problems. The small family business is no different. Many of these problems exist in corporate business environments, but can be exaggerated in a family business. Family businesses go through various stages of growth and development over time. Many of these challenges will be found once the second and subsequent generations enter the business.

A famous saying about family owned business in Mexico is “Father, founder of the company, son rich, and grandson poor.” The founder works and builds a business, the son takes it over and is poorly prepared to manage and make it grow but enjoys the wealth, and the grandson inherits a dead business and empty bank account.

Here is why I hate the challenges of a tiny family business.......

Emotions. Family problems will affect the business. Divorce, separations, health or financial problems also create difficult political situations for the family members (money will be siphoned from the profits...any excuse will do). Informality. Absence of clear policies and business norms for family versus non-family members (they are NEVER the same for family members...they just want you to think so). Tunnel vision. Lack of outside opinions and diversity on how to operate the business cause a stale environment. Lack of written strategy. No documented plan or long-term planning (outside of selling the business to family members). Compensation problems for family members. Dividends, salaries, benefits and compensation for non-participating family members are not clearly defined and justified (like paying a 'part-time' family member a HUGE salary for a few days of work).

Role confusion. Roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined (family members get special treatment....be honest...you know they do). Lack of talent. Hiring family members who are not qualified or lack the skills and abilities for the organization and the inability to fire them when it is clear they are not working out. High turnover of non-family members. When employees feel that the family “mafia” will always advance over outsiders and when employees realize that management is incompetent and "paralyzed" to change it....Succession Planning. Most family organizations do not have a plan for handing the power to the next generation, leading to great political conflicts and divisions (and what about the non-family members who got you there?)

Retirement and estate planning. Long-term planning to cover the necessities and realities of older members when they leave the company (if the company stays in business that long). Training. There should be a specific training program when you integrate family members into the company. This should provide specific information that related to the goals, expectations and obligations of the position (why not? All non-family members do this…). Paternalistic. Control is centralized and influenced by tradition instead of good management practices (oh my...don't get me started). Overly Conservative. Older family members try to preserve the status quo and resist change. Especially resistance to ideas and change proposed by the younger generation.

Communication problems. Provoked by role confusion, emotions (envy, fear, anger), political divisions or other relationship problems. Systematic thinking. Decisions are made day-to-day in response to problems. No long-term planning or strategic planning (knee-jerk reactions….). Exit strategy. No clear plan on how to sell, close or walk away from the business (only tunnel-vision of making sure the family takes over the business). Business valuation. No knowledge of the worth of the business, and the factors that make (or MADE) it valuable or decrease its value (just that "this is my retirement plan....when I sell it to my children)

Growth. Problems due to lack of capital and new investment or resistance to re-investment in the business (because the “family members” need to be taken care of financially…new cars, weddings, college....right now!). Vision. Each family member has a different vision of the business and different goals (this is enough to drive ANY non-family member out-the-door. Control of operations. Difficult to control all members of the family from lack of participation in the day-to-day work and supervision required (but let’s face it….how hard can this possibly be?...if you can serve coffee….you can sell office furniture…right?)...

comments anyone?

A good offense...wins!

What if you could change destiny? Would you really want to?

Along our journey we will be confronted with many situations, some will be filled with joy, and some will be filled with heartache. How we react to what we are faced will determine what kind of outcome the rest of our journey through life will be like.

When things don't always go your way, you have two choices in dealing with the situations. You can focus on the fact that things didn't go how you had hoped they would and let life pass you by or we can make the best of the situation and know that these are only temporary setbacks and "study" the lessons that are to be learned.

Time stops for no one, and if we allow ourselves to focus on the negative we might miss out on some really amazing things that life has to offer. You can't go back to the past, you can only take the lessons learned and the experiences gained from it and move on. It is because of the heartaches, as well as the hardships, that in the end help to make you a stronger person.

The people that we meet on our journey, are people that we are destined to meet. Everybody comes into our lives for some reason or another and we don't always know their purpose, until sometimes, it is too late. They all play some kind of role. Some may stay for a lifetime; others may only stay for a short while. Several years ago, at an awards banquet an employee of mine was being honored in front of all 17 offices nationwide. My wife and I were absolutely 'stunned' when he accepted the award...and said without reservation..."I would like to thank Tracy Hall for hiring me."

As you can imagine I was shocked...but the words that came from my wife were true..."you never know how you will impact someone's life."

It is often the people who stay for only a short time that ends up making a lasting impression not only in our lives, but in our hearts as well. Although we may not realize it at the time, they will make a difference and change our lives in a way we never could imagine. To think that (any) one person can have such a profound effect on your life forever is truly a blessing. It is because of these encounters that we learn some of life's best lessons and sometimes we even learn a little bit about ourselves.

People will come and go into our lives quickly, but sometimes we are lucky to meet that one or two very special people that will stay in our hearts forever no matter what. The lessons that we have learned from them and the experiences that we have gained from meeting certain people, will stay with us forever.

It is often said that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. It all depends on how one defines the word "strong." It can have different meanings to different people. In this sense, "stronger" means looking back at the person you were and comparing it to the person you have become today.

It also means looking deep into your soul and realizing that the person you are today couldn't exist if it weren't for the things that have happened in the past or for the people that you have met. Everything that happens in our life happens for a reason and sometimes that means we must face heartaches in order to experience joy.

It is “you” that decides if you are winning in life….or not. You decide if you want to make a difference in someone's life.

What's so weird about it?

The fact that we actually put-up with this crappy weather is beyond me. The majority of the nation is dry and sunny…and yet we have the same drip….and ‘what color gray is this?’

The exciting thing is Spring is on it’s way with all the bulbs blooming. This is what it is all about. The ‘new beginning’ each year.

I know that if the economy cooperates…wait!! Let’s mention this “bad economy” for a moment….it took me time to find a parking spot at Costco as I passed the huge line waiting to get gas….as I stood in line for 20 minutes…..as the 12 people in front of me purchased flat screen TV’s and y2k-type food in their carts. The couple in front of me bought $600 worth of goods.

The economy will rebound! Americans ‘have to spend’ and people like to buy. Look around! Resturants are busy…Best Buy sales are up over 10%….STOP watching the news. The first 7 stories on the news tonight were ‘how bad’ the economy is…..as I listened to 6 straight commercials from drug companies….(the side affects out-weigh the reason to try the product)…..who runs this country anyway?