Pizza For A Dream

WE Surround Them - Make Your Voice Be Heard

I'm a big talk radio listener.  Of all the talk radio hosts I've listened to, there's none like Glenn Beck.  Glenn's a down-to-earth guy that can laugh at himself and truly relate to what you and I are going through day after day.  Just 8 years ago, he couldn't even pay the rent for his apartment.  Today, he's the 3rd most listened to radio talk show host in America and has a new show called Beck on Fox News.

A week or so ago, a caller on his show called in distraught due to the fact that it didn't appear that anyone was listening to regular people like him.  This call spurred the beginnings of We Surround Them.  Check out the video clip and explanation of the principles we all hold dear.  This is our chance to be heard and to connect with others who believe like we do.  A chance to connect with others who are "following the rules" but are frustrated why everyone who's not follow the rules is getting bailed out.

Stumble It!

You Can Make A HUGE Difference In The Lives of Those Around You

Here's a note I sent this morning to a friend that Facebook has allowed me to get back in touch with.  I thought I would share it to illustrate how big an impact his thoughts have had on my family.  You never, ever know what impact you will have on others around you.  All this happened due to a short 2 minute conversation he and I had one day several years ago.

The End of the Book Culture??

The Houston Chronicle ran a concerning article this past weekend titled, The End of The Book Culture.  The article is based around an interview with author, Larry McMurtry who was making a public appearance in Houston.  In the article Mr. McMurtry states

"...I don’t see kids reading. I think little kids love to have stories read to them, but when they get to 10 or 11 or 12, they run into this tsunami of technology: iPod, iPhone, Blackberries."

The article goes on to discuss how this lack of reading doesn't bode well for the future of our country.

Cause for Concern

We have 3 kids of our own and with regular interaction with their peers, I've observed how over-the-top many families have gotten as they embrace new technologies. Drive down the streets of any town in the evening and notice all the DVD players running as families drive from place to place. Listen to the kids talk with each other and realize how many of families keep gaming consoles in just about every room of their homes.  Kids are immersed in technology from sunup to sundown.  What I struggle to understand is why parents are encouraging this? What redeeming value does playing Super Smash Brothers or Halo for the 1000th time have?  

Twitter is the Future of Social Networking. Read this Book!

I read a blog post about 3 months ago that was talking about how neat Twitter.com is.  I enjoy reading this guy's blog and figured I'd sign up and give Twitter a shot.  Since then I spent a couple of months playing around with it and just didn't "get it."  I wondered what everyone in the blogosphere who was "smoking."  Finally, I noticed a book while ordering from Amazon.com called Twitter Revolution: How Social Media and Mobile Marketing is Changing the Way We Do Business & Market Online.  I wanted to exceed the Amazon $25 minimum to receive FREE shipping (great program, by the way), so I added this book to my order.

The Puzzle Pieces of Success

Today I spent some time relaxing and watching my wife, her sister, and our daughters put together a very complex 2000 piece puzzle.  Putting together puzzles has become one of the many holiday traditions that have evolved in our family over the years.  Watching them work made me think of how achieving success in any endeavor is just the assembly of one big complex puzzle!

The goal of each and every one of us should be to gather up as many puzzle pieces as is possible in our chosen area of endeavor. A book read here, a conference attended there, and a friendship made tomorrow are all puzzle pieces.  You never know exactly where the pieces are going to come from or how the puzzle will look when finished!

You, You, You, You, You...I Wanna Talk About Me!!!

In yesterday's post, I discussed one of Dale Carnegie's basic people skill's from How to Win Friends & Influence People.  Today will continue this discussion on the concepts of this MUST HAVE book.

The country artist, Toby Keith, popularized today's topic in his Toby Keith, Greatest Hits 2 album with the song Wanna Talk About Me.

What's the MOST Important Word?

I'll never forget walking by the self-help section in Barnes & Noble 10+ years ago and seeing a book titled How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie.  I remember thinking to myself that that I would never want to take advantage of people and couldn't understand why anyone else would want to as well?!!  There was NO WAY I was ever going to read this book!!!!

Not too long afterward, I had a good friend of mine recommend the book to me and after several weeks of his prodding I agreed to read it.  I have to admit the book COMPLETELY CHANGED MY LIFE!!  If you haven't read it, it will change your life as well.  I've since called it the "People Skills Bible" and now read it every 2 years or so as a refresher.  I'll cover other concepts from this important book in future posts, but now it's time for "The MOST Important Word..."

It's not A or I or the or any other word you might think.  In fact, it's different for everyone, but I could also tell each and every person out there what it is for them.  

The Chinese Bamboo Tree

You take a little seed and plant, water, and fertilize it for a whole year, and nothing happens.
The second year you water and fertilize it, and nothing happens.
The third year you water and fertilize it, and nothing yet.
The fourth year you water and fertilize it, and still nothing.

7 Steps to Eating an Elephant (or 7 Steps to Starting a Business)

I've heard it said, 

"How do you eat an elephant?"  

Answer: "One step at a time."

The same answer is true in starting a business.  Take it one step at a time!

Silver and Gold Investing? 5 Beginner Lessons Learned

Over the past several months as the economy has continued to wane, I've begun to look into precious metals.  Aside from collecting some coins when I was very young, I've never made any attempts to buy.