I Know There's An Answer

Over the past couple of days a song has been playing inside my head and it won’t go away. No, it is not the Mahna-Mahna song even though I just wrote it, you just read it, and now it is in your head never to leave. Seriously, the song that has been rattling around my brain is one I had always heard but never paid attention to until this past weekend.

After really listening to it, the song got me thinking about how people treat other people.

There are numerous occasions that we find ourselves in situations of offering advice and “knowing” what’s right for someone. Whether they are blinded by love or hate or illness or just don’t want to be messed with yet, we know that we can help. I stand before you Guilty as charged. So what does this have to do with the song inside my head?

The song is “I Know There’s an Answer” by the Beach Boys from their classic album Pet Sounds. The song as described by Brian Wilson is about “the self-centeredness of people and how the singer tells them ‘...the way that they live could be better.’”
As I heard the song, not just listened to it, I paid attention to what was being sung and I really heard the words. I heard it for what it was: a warning.

The song serves as a warning to all of us; all of us that care but are not aware that what we offer is an answer that, unfortunately, is not the answer others need. This then leaves us in a unique situation of either having those people cut us off (because we are not helping) or we cut them off (because they don’t want our help). So what do we do? What does anyone do?

We stop and think about how sad life would be if people were constantly cutting each other off because no one wanted to hear or listen what the other was saying or would it be so sad? Imagine living in a world where no one would say “in my opinion” or “listen to what I am saying” or the dreaded twosome of “well back in my day” and “if you ask me.” Now that wouldn’t be so bad? And again, what does this have to do with the song?

As I wrote, I see this as a warning. A warning that you can take with you now and unfortunately, for others it may be too late. Especially, after the recent holiday gatherings, I know that there were many people that had discussions that started with the “if you ask me” header. I know that many people are going home angry, upset, sad, or deeper in the depression they started the holidays with.

Here is the take away: Think about what you are going to say and who you are going to say it to. The next time someone you truly care for tells you that they suffer from depression or just don’t want to be messed with, take it as a warning and keep your trap shut, no matter how you much you love that person. Especially if you think what you are going to say is the right thing.

Here is the song


Here are the lyrics:

I know so many people who think they can do it alone
They isolate their heads and stay in their safety zones
Now what can you tell them
And what can you say that won't make them defensive

I know there's an answer
I know now but I have to find it by myself

They come on like they're peaceful
But inside they're so uptight
They trip through their day
And waste all their thoughts at night

Now how can I come on
And tell them the way that they live could be better
I know there's an answer
I know now but I have to find it by myself

Now how can I come on
And tell them the way that they live could be better
I know there's an answer
I know now but I have to find it by myself


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Merry Christmas

From Me to You and Your Family: MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

Holiday Time Off (something to think about)

It is Monday December 8, 2008 and we are a little over two weeks away from the big day when that jolly old elf comes down our chimneys. In the meantime, it might just be time to get yourself prepped for the days you and/or your organization will be closed for the holidays. While you are not preparing for a natural disaster but you are certainly preparing to have your doors closed for some much needed rest, relaxation, and maybe some hot buttered rum.

Seriously, there are a few things to consider before starting any prep work.

Know your calendar: Decide now which days you or your organization will be celebrating. Two things that make this decision quite easy; Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on a Thursday thus the perfect segue into a long, joyous weekend.

Days off vs. half-days: Now that you have decided on what days will be part of your holiday festivities. The next big decision is to determine if you will close shop for all the days (for the sake of the rest of this post let’s say the calendar days affected will be the two weeks that encompass Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s) or open for half days.

This may be a little lop-sided if you have employees, are you prepared to pay them for the time off from work if you decide to close for two weeks? Then would open all day with split shifts be the better solution? That way everyone gets a chance to come in, work a little, and keep their sanity ;)

Call forwarding vs. Voice Mail: If you are running a one or two person operation decide if you want your calls to be forwarded to your home office number or cell phone or keep it going to your voice mail. A word of advice, if you decide that you will keep your messages on voicemail then include in the outgoing message that you are closed for normal business but you will be checking your voicemail often and when normal business will resume.

Driving in vs. Remote Access: The next thing to consider that if you decide to do some work are prepared to do so? By this I mean, will you be accessing your computer at the office via a remote desktop application or will you be making the trek through the holiday traffic. I am more than sure that by your second trip in you will be scrambling to install TightVNC or setting up Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection software all in the name of protecting your sanity.

Let everyone know: Shout it from the highest roof tops…ok maybe not the rooftops, but most certainly give them a call, put it in an email, post it on a blog, upload it on your website, send a note. Of course there will always be at least one who won’t get the word. That’s OK, wish him a Merry Christmas or your appropriate seasonal greeting and move along.

On my next post, I will get into what you might need to do once you have made your decisions.

Happy Holidays!!!


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USB Device Policy in the workplace

Happy Holidays Everyone,
Last week, on my podcast (Dave the I.T.Guy) I talked about how the U.S. Military has banned the use of all USB devices such as thumb drives, CDs, flash media cards, and all other removable data storage devices from their networks. For the time being that is, in an attempt to stop a serious malware condition from spreading any further.

It appears that the USB devices are being used by the troops tend to be privately owned, therefore, it is quite difficult for the military to control what the troops put on them or where they connect them. Therefore, the military has banned all "Personally owned or non-authorized devices."

There is a solution that the military is imposing. They will allow USB devices that have been screened and authenticated to be used, they will allow their own devices to be used and only military approved devices.

So what does this have to do with you and your business? A LOT!!!

Most importantly, if your organization has a Local Area Network then you certainly should be concerned. The concern should definitely come from the fact that you do not know what your network users are plugging into your USB drives and CD Drives. This is where you have to take a proactive approach and head them off at the pass.

Now is the time to address this very important issue with your network users. Remember, it is not just your livelihood at stake, it is theirs as well. Your network goes off-line, your users cannot do their work so and their livelihood suffers. Now is the time to enact an acceptable use policy for Universal Flash Drives (USB Memory Sticks).

This presentation is a simple Primer on how and why a USB Flash Device control in the workplace is essential

USB Device Policy

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: virus malware)

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Dave's Blog Action Day Post Especially For You

Did you know that today is Blog Action Day and I am taking part. Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, in posting about the same issue on the same day. The goal is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion about that issue. This year’s issue is poverty.

As I sat here thinking about what to write and say about Poverty and how we live in the wealthiest nation in the worlds and we produce more waste than Gross Domestic Product of many countries, it is well just sad. Yet, even close to home, may right down at the end of your street there is someone who is going to bed hungry tonight. Someone might just need more than a can of soup but a warm bowl of chicken noodle and a even warmer heart to help ease what hurts.

This keeps bringing me back to one of three of my all time favorite Christmas movies; Scrooged. At the end of the movie our hero Frank Cross, played by the immortal Bill Murray, discovers the true meaning of Christmas and in no uncertain terms Frank makes sure the world knows too. So I will let Frank Cross tell you in his own words and you will see how it applies to today (and everyday).


The video is 8 minutes long and the speech begins just after the 5 minute mark

Frank Cross: Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Tis the season to be jolly
Don we now our gay apparel
Troll the ancient yuletide carol

James Cross: We should be taping this.

Frank Cross: How did that happen?
That happened because it's Christmas Eve.
I'm not crazy. It's Christmas Eve.
It's the one night when we all act a little nicer.
We...we smile a little easier. We...we...share a little more.
For a couple of hours out of the whole year
we are the people that we always hoped we would be.
It's a Miracle, it's really a miracle because it happens
every Christmas Eve.
And if you waste that miracle, you're gonna burn for it. I know.
You have to do something. You have to take a chance
You do have to get involved.
There are people that are having trouble making their miracle happen
There are people that don't have enough to eat,
there are people who are cold.
You can go and say hello to these people.
You can take an old blanket out of the closet or make a sandwich
and say, "Here."
"I get it now."
And if you give, then it can happen, the miracle can happen to you.
Not just the poor and hungry, Everybody's gotta have this miracle!
It can happen tonight for you all!
If you believe in this pure thing,
the miracle will happen and you'll want it again tomorrow!
You won't say, "Christmas is once a year and it's a fraud." It's not!
It can happen every day! You've just got to want that feeling!
You'll want it every day! It can happen to you!
I believe in it now.
I believe it's gonna happen to me, now. I'm ready for it!
And it's great. It's a good feeling.
It's better than I've felt in a long time.
I'm ready.

===============================
So what can we do to keep the magic happening? GIVE...real simple GIVE. GIVE what you can: Give Your Time, Give Some Money, Give A Lot of Support...Just Give, remember a little goes a long way.

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Are Celebrity Endorsements Still Needed or Relevant for Local Businesses?

I am asking this question for all the marketing pundits to toss around and when an answer has been determined please let me know.

Today is Sunday and my TV screen is reserved for the National Football League Sunday afternoon presentations. It goes without saying commercials are also a part of my Sunday afternoon. So there are plenty of ads that are specifically for the Sunday afternoon audience. There is one set of ads in particular that have caught my eye (per sé).

There are two local Lasik Eye Surgeons who seem to have cornered the market on Sports Celebrities in their commercials. It seems that they have some kind of deal worked out with Professional Football Players from the Dallas area where in exchange for some eye work there is a simple endorsement via TV and Radio commercials.

Don't get me wrong I understand the need for endorsements, however, these guys just over do it. It is now to the point that these two "medical professionals" are in an all out shoot out to out do each other. Every commercial they have put out has been with at least one "professional football player from Dallas." There was one (and only one) exception to this: one commercial in which one of the eye doctors did have a few endorsements from several prominent doctors and one city mayor, still I have yet to see these two include an endorsement from an everyday bloke or lady.

Where am I coming from with this? My vision is not what it used to be and I have reading glasses (for now). Thus I have considered the option of the Laser surgery for my vision. However, these two guys in the need to compete against each other have started to place themselves out of the reach of everyday people. So I am losing interesting in what they offer as I fear that am not socially or financially within their reach.

I wonder if even one of these guys would consider bringing themselves back down to their intended customer's level and have possibly a Teacher or Police Officer endorse the service they offer?

So I ask this question: At what point does the celebrity endorsement stop having the effect it was intended to and start to create a sense of being out of reach for (or out of touch with) the target audience?

Anyone, please feel free to respond.

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A 401K and a Mason Jar

I read a question posted on the FastCompany FastTalk board, “Q. How concerned are you about the long term value of your 401K plan?”

While normally this question would not normally draw my attention, however, it along with observing my friend (remember the would-be gold prospector?) caught my eye. Seems that since the start of this Economic Debacle, my friend, almost like clockwork, logs in and checks the latest on his 401K. I just scratch my head and walk away. Here is someone who is genuinely worried about something today that he will not need for another 20 or 30 years from now. He is worried about something that he is not living off of. Just like any economic situation it will get better. The economy has always had its ups and it has had its downs, you can bet it will have plenty of ups and downs over the course of the next 30 years. So, why get all worried, concerned, and paniced over nothing. The only people that should show some concern is those that are currently living off the return of their 401Ks.

Don’t get me wrong, I think my friend is genuinely worried about nothing. Especially, when low value is all there is . This is not time for concern (and panic) but time to take advantage of a bad situation.

I am firm believer in buying low and selling high. This is the time that my friend and many others should be dumping as much money as they can to build up their holdings. I know I am.

It is real simple: building up and solidifying the base of any 401K, mutual fund, or individual stock position while the prices are low is really the only thing that makes sense during the current economy. What is it that so many people find this difficult to believe? Some say that if the economy continues this downward spiral it will be pointless to invest in anything.

So the question from those worrywarts becomes: What if the stock market completely fails?

If you or anyone else has that kind of attitude, shouldn’t you be pulling your money out of the 401K, IRA, Mutual fund, stocks, or any investment program before the bottom completely falls out? I mean for pete’s sake, if you have defeatist attitude about the future of the market, then please cash out now before all your money is gone. Of course, what will you do with all that cash? Put it in the bank? Burying in the backyard? Or store it under your mattress?

Unless, you are ready to take advantage of a very unique situation, my guess is a mason jar under the front porch is right for you.


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Hurry Up and Wait

Hurry Up and Wait seems to be the phrase that best describes the up to the minute situation of the economy.

The Economic Bailout package is still bouncing around in the House & Senate with a vote looming. Yet all this time we have been playing that old US Army game of "Hurry Up and Wait"

Where we go 100 miles per hour and then when ready to kick things off we are told to just sit and wait.

Now we wait for Friday's vote in the house. Though all is not waiting, the markets are reacting some in a not so favorable manner. However, this is no cause for alarm as it is too early to even begin speculating as the EB has not yet been approved.

So for now we wait.

Talk to you soon



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Greed Is Still Good

"Greed is Good..." remember those famous words uttered by the Michael Douglas character, Gordon Gekko, in the 1987 motion picture Wall Street? In light of the recent economic situation, someone reminded me of Gekko's speech in the movie. They alluded to the fact that the speech was about GREED BEING GOOD and that greed is pure evil, no ands, ifs, or buts.

That certain someone told me that the Gekko speech is an exact reflection of the current economic situation. Which he said was born out of Greed and Lust for Money and Power. My friend may be right (to a certain extent).

Here is the certain extent. Those three words are part of a larger speech in the movie, when Gekko is given his 15 minutes at a shareholder meeting.

Here is Gekko's speech in its entirety, please read it and then make up your mind as to what Gekko was really saying:



"Well, I appreciate the opportunity you're giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest shareholder in Teldar Paper, to speak. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're not here to indulge in fantasy, but in political and economic reality. America, America has become a second-rate power. Its trade deficit and its fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. Now, in the days of the free market, when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the stockholder. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men that built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake. Today, management has no stake in the company!

All together, these men sitting up here [Teldar management] own less than 3 percent of the company. And where does Mr. Cromwell put his million-dollar salary? Not in Teldar stock; he owns less than 1 percent. You own the company. That's right -- you, the stockholder.

And you are all being royally screwed over by these, these bureaucrats, with their steak lunches, their hunting and fishing trips, their corporate jets and golden parachutes.

Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents, each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can't figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I'll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents.

The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated.

In the last seven deals that I've been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. [applause] Thank you.

I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good.

Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms -- greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind.

And greed -- you mark my words -- will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much."

Is this speech still relevant?
I say it is. I say that the entire speech is very much relevant. The points that Gekko makes are all to hauntingly close to the today's business world. Greed for money drives the problems we are in now. Greed to make a quick buck, Greed to buy a house at the lowest possible interest rate, Greed to buy a car that makes us look better than the neighbors. However, Gekko is NOT exclusively talking about the kind of Greed that revolves around $$$. It is part of it but not all of it.

It is about the Greed that makes us want the best for the ones we love. It is the kind of Greed that motivates us to keep going to that job we despise knowing that at the end there will be something better. Greed also motivates us to leave a bad relationship for something better. It is also about the kind of Greed that makes us want to be a better person than we were yesterday that makes things happen.

Please, do not be fooled by Alarmist tactics that are designed to mislead the population to believe one thing when the big picture is something completely different.

Just as Greed is what got us into this financial mess, Greed is what will lead us out of this financial mess.

Greed is still Good and that is the bottom line.


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Weathering The Storm

A few weeks ago I wrote change and how circumstances force change on us and how it can also be the perfect opportunity to initiate change. There was something I overlooked; the storm that usually comes with change.

The storm?
Yes, some people call it fallout and others call it the storm. This is what happens when change is happening but it affects them in a negative manner or so they think it is negative. This is when resistance starts. Thus the person initiating the change goes head-to-head against the person(s) resistant to the change.

As the person initiating the change, your change, you have to expect that there will be those that will fight you every step of the way. This is when you have continue fighting through. You have to ensure that you do not back down. Under no circumstances are you to even consider changing your mind, you went to all that trouble to initiate the change. Now, why would you want to go back on your decisions?

Sure it may eliminate the displeasure and discomfort that is causing others, but it will also let the others know that if they moan and whine long enough you will give in. Stand your ground, this time and every time.

Again, it may be difficult and discomforting for you as well. You will need to ensure everyone that your decisions are yours and you will not be intimidated into rescinding your decisions.

Keep fighting the good fight and in the end you will be better for it.

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Hurricane Ike Evacuees, Hotels, & the Web

This morning I saw a disturbing news report on CNN Headline news. It seems that College Station, Texas area hotels are between in a rock and a hard place due to a Texas A&M football game this weekend. There were hotel reservations made long before Hurricane Ike ever made the scene. Now that Ike has come and gone and football day is here, the Evacuees that were hunkering down are being asked to leave because of the reservations.

The evacuees are left out to find themselves with another place to stay. The report did mention that some hotel personnel were calling people with reservations and explained the situation with some canceling reservations but not all. So the Ike Evacuees are being forced out, again.

It got me thinking how this is a great opportunity for organizations like Hotels.com, Priceline, Travelocity, and Expedia to step up and help by doing what they do to get Hotels for the evacuees lined up. As of 9:00am this morning, I checked all four mentioned websites and only one had a direct link dealing with the hurricane it read "Travel Alert: Hurricane Advisory" but does not directly mention Evacuees and their unique situation.

With a little planning and some forward thinking they could be working with their "vast network" of suppliers to provide evacuee assistance for airline, hotel, and rental car bookings during this and every hurricane season. It really should not be a big burden for these organizations to do something good. Maybe get good old Captain Kirk to go on TV and run a spot directly aimed at those affected by weather or other natural disaster events. It should not be a stretch for Bill Shatner to do a simple promotion to give people a place to turn to, as I am more than sure the brief shameless self-promotional appearance on Saturday Night Live last week will confirm that they will do what it takes to get the message out.

Anyone have other ideas on how to help people in these situations, today and in the future?

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Bank Bailout??? and the $1000 Bagel!!!

Federal Government bails out AIG and now has its eye on the Banks and Banking System. It seems that the US Government, according to a CNNMoney.com online report, is "poised to establish a program to let banks get rid of mortgage-related assets that have been hard to value and harder to trade."

This is very interesting...sounds like the CDO problem???? Collateralized Debt Obligations? Sound familiar? It should, it was back in July 17, 2007 that I first talked about CDOs and why you should be worried.

Is this really what the Government should be doing? Is the government going to buy the foreclosed home next door to me and then do what with it? I am more than sure the government does not want to be holding on to these homes? They are going to move them and they can afford to take a loss on the resale of these home, heck after all they are foreclosed homes. These things should be a bargain and because people love a bargain, they will snatch them up and either drop property values even further or raise value as subdivisions are back to capacity? See where this is going?

While I am all for the Government backing off, I am also a proponent of stepping in when people will get hurt. This is what government should be all about. Let a business make an attempt at success or failure but let's not have government looming overhead and waiting for the first mistake so that they can intervene. Of course there are always exceptions, much like Enron or WorldCom, when the activities are more blatant and people will suffer, then by all means jump right in.

Let's trust the process enough to let it work. I would like to see how these organizations would have handled the recovery process without having the government to turn to.

Even then, when the time comes for the government to step in and take care of the people, please, let's not save someone from drowning by keeping them out of the pool.

In the "by the way" department: Time to change another channel....it was fun while it lasted. When you have to blog what you have posted someplace else, well, all I can say is that the $1000 Bagel has certainly gone stale for you.

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I'll Start Doing It When You Start Doing It

Another friend and I were talking and she was telling me about a conversation her Co-Worker (C-W) and her were having the other day. It was a very interesting conversation. It seems that a member of the co-worker's staff is flat out disregarding the C-W's directives. These directives are the common stuff you hear of in the workplace; turn in time-sheets by close of business Monday, double check your work, and other relatively mundane stuff but still disregarded nonetheless.

My friend recommended that it may be time to start holding those people accountable and writing them up as a method to not only show that C-W was serious about what is expected of the employees but also as a tool to motivate the Co-Worker's employees in the right direction.

The Co-Worker's response to my friend was "I'll start doing it when you start doing it." Needless to say, my friend was floored. My friend told me she was stunned and could not believe that the C-W, a manager of a medium size department (approx 30 members), would actually utter those words.

My friend asked me, what I thought that was all about? To me that statement was nothing short of a cop out and certainly explains how her C-W's people got so out of control and basically disrespect her Co-Worker.

While I, personally, do not know my friend's Co-Worker, but those words spoke volumes about the C-W and it also put in perspective what C-W is looking for. The Co-Worker is looking for someone else to handle his/her problems for him/her. It is quite obvious that C-W is NOT taking a leader's approach to solving problems but more of a "pawn it off on someone else" approach.

Again, I want to be sure that everyone understands that I do now know C-W but nonetheless C-W is in a position of authority and a lame response will not solve C-W's problems. Another thing to consider is that maybe, just maybe, C-W is not ready to be a leader. Remember folks, being a manager does NOT make you an automatic leader.

Something else to remember; being in charge of 30 people is not for a manager...it is for a LEADER. These 30 people certainly NEED A LEADER.

How does one empower C-W and all the other Co-Workers in the same situation? Let the C-W know that problems they are encountering are not unique to them, these problems are the same that other leaders have dealt with in the past and will deal with in the future. These are problems that are not to be passed off on someone else to handle, they are to be addressed immediately and effectively.

However, we cannot empower all of our Co-Workers until they are ready to take that stand and be fully prepared to WALK THE TALK.


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A word of warning to would be employees

Earlier this week, I was talking to my number once client. She revealed to me that she has a project getting ready to kick off. As part of that project she has to hire 10 new people and get them trained. My friend was talking to a mutual friend who recommended that her (the mutual friend) son would be suited for a position as he was going to school and having a little extra spending money would be nice. Hey, in this day and age who wouldn't want a litte extra cash on hand??? Certainly not me and certainly not a young college student.

As my friend and I got to talking about hiring people and how tricky that always was. The tricky part came when a background check would only reveal so little, especially for young adults. I told her that a growing trend is for employers (or potential employers) to Google a potential new hire to see what information they can find about the individual.

To prove my point we "Googled" the name of the mutual friend's son. Well, Google revealed that he has a Facebook page as well as the standard MySpace page. So, my client clicked on the MySpace link and to our surprised it was locked as private. I told her that was a good thing as it prevented others from finding out too much or seeing way too much. Then we were off to the Facebook page.

My client was not thrilled at what she saw there. The young man had as his primary photo a picture of him and someone else throwing what appears to be gang signs and the international hand sign for not the number one. If you could have seen my client's face when she saw the picture, it was a look of shock and then confusion.

Shock at how could this "nice young man" have compromised himself in such a manner by allowing himself to be seen in such a picture? I told her that it is not uncommon for kids to be kids. However, if the young people today want to be taken seriously in the workplace they need to start taking themselves seriously. They need to take responsibility for what they post online. Sure it may be cute, it may be funny, but it will certainly make any potential employer think twice about who they want to represent them and their business.

The confusion was based on whether or not to bring him into the project? Does she not hire him and risk losing a friend or does she hire him and risk him losing customers? It certainly took her to a place she did not want to be.

I did recommend that she talk to the young man, look him in the eye and tell him "If I was any other employer your would be no where near my place of business, but because of who your parents and I are to one another please change your online pictures to reflect a more responsible individual before showing up for work on Monday."

Of course, I added that she can check and if he still has not changed the pics by the time Monday morning rolls around. Stand your ground and kindly tell the young man to go home as he cannot complete a simple request as a condition of employment then he could not be trusted to complete any other task set before him.

Folks, this might sound harsh but in the end, it is called Business for a reason.

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• Dave Guerra • potential employee • employer • facebook pic • online reputation • everyone is watching • American Red Cross • Hire A Hero

Back to School

Just wanted to take some time to wish every educator GOOD LUCK in the coming school year. Your job, unfortunately, is a Thankless Task, yet it is so VERY IMPORTANT to the future of all of us.

While everyone is getting the kids ready, I want to take the time to THANK YOU for what you do and wish you the best this coming school year.

Now, go out there and teach them everything they need to be better citizens of our world.


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• Dave Guerra • Back To School • Teachers • Thank you • American Red Cross • Hire A Hero

Change comes quickly (when you got a plan)

As change seems to be the running theme, I will add a little more to it. Since the 8th of August there has been a lot of change happening on the other side of the planet, relative to where I am of course. Change has been happening in Beijing.

At The Summer Olympics Games?
Yes, at the Summer Olympic Games. We have seen World Records shattered and countries that were never thought to be contenders become contenders as well as those countries that were expected to win win. How is this change?

It is change when you are not expected to win a medal and all of a sudden the loudspeaker is playing your nation's national anthem, rest assured that most certainly classified as CHANGE. By now, just about everyone on the planet knows who Michael Phelps is and the feat he and his teammates accomplished. For that matter, people recognize Mexico's Tatiana Ortiz & Paola Espinosa and their bronze medals in synchronized diving (a first for Mexico).

Before I digress, or is it diverge, even further let me reel this one in. All the individuals and teams that are participating in the Olympiad are doing so because they followed a plan to get there. All of the Olympians had to change to fit the plan they set before themselves.

I am more than sure on all their plans the last item list is "Win the Gold Medal" and while not all will win a gold medal it is on that plan nonetheless.

What do those Olympians do if they don't get a gold? They go back and re-evaluate the plan to see if it was a feasible plan? Then they adjust the plan accordingly then try again. Of course, unlike football (NFL) these athletes don't wait until next year to make things happen, they have to wait four years. Four years is a long time and four years certainly takes its toll on the human body. Still, four years is plenty of time to fine tune a program that fell just short of the medal stand.

What about the rest of us that are not Michael Phelps or Misty May? Don't be discouraged...I did not participate in the 2008 Olympics, nor will I participate in the 2010 Olympics, however my plan is taking me in a different direction and if I never get the gold on the track I am on, well I will certainly re-evaluate, re-design, and re-configure my plan. Then will I press on in my quest for the gold.

Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Go for the Gold.


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• Dave Guerra • Change • Plan • Olympics • Gold Medal • Michael Phelps • Misty May • Beijing Olympics • Tatiana Ortiz • Paola Espinosa • American Red Cross • Hire A Hero

The Donald does it again

No sooner than I post about Trump Trait:Don't Fear Risk, that Donald Trump goes and proves another Trump Trait. It seems that Johnny Carson's long time "Tonight" show side kick Ed McMahon has fallen on hard times and fell behind on and eventually defaulted on the mortgage to his $4.8million mansion due to his inability to work because of a neck injury. Well, just before foreclosure was to take place, Donald Trump pops in and is scheduled to seal the deal on acquiring the property from the Countrywide Financial Corp. according to a CNN.com report.

In the CNN.com posting states that Donald Trump "told the Los Angeles Times he doesn't know McMahon personally, but acted out of compassion because helping out 'would be an honor.'" This is because "when I was at the Wharton School of Business I'd watch him every night," Trump told the Times. "How could this happen?"

How it could happen? It is pretty obvious, as it is happening all over the country. Mr. McMahon, though his situation is unfortunate it is far from unique. People everywhere are finding themselves having to deal with rising fuel & food prices, layoffs or rising Adjustable Rate Mortgages that they can no longer pay. Of course, there are also those unforeseen incidents such as sudden medical situations, vehicle breakdown, and even major home appliances that need to be replaced. So what is a person to do? You persevere and continue to fight the good fight. Use those Trump Traits to get back into the game and you will be better for it.

So what TRUMP TRAIT did The Donald use in this situation? I say he used two (2) of the fourteen Trump Traits: Revenge Can Be Good and Build Your Brand.

Revenge Can Be Good: While this may have been the farthest thing on his mind, Mr. Trump seized an opportunity to do a good thing and in this case it was a complete opposite of what those that criticize him expected him to do. Therefore, revenge is certainly sweet.

Build Your Brand: Here is another thing at what makes Donald Trump who he is. He knows real estate and he makes another high profile purchase. Therefore, he continues to add to his brand, thus he continues to be relevant.

Speaking of Real Estate, Houses/Homes and Ed McMahon here is a very unique clip from the Tonight show. In Mr. McMahon's case, a very timely subject matter is discussed in the clip.



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• Dave Guerra • Donald Trump • Ed McMahon • The Tonight Show • Johnny Carson • foreclosure • mortgage • Countrywide Financial Corporation • Revenge Can Be Good • Build Your Brand • Get in the Game • American Red Cross • Hire A Hero

Invisible Relevance

In a blog post by Pete Ryckman of Memo to C-Level Speakers blog, "Welcome to the Age of Invisibility", writes about living in the new age of Invisibility.

The age of invisibility is where, as he puts it, "Speakers face new problems as media content outlets -- like broadcast, cable, print, Web, blogs, etc. -- multiply at a geometric rate." While Ryckman talks, in his blog post, specifically about public speakers but I say that this can apply to everybody and anybody, public speaker or not.

In the post Ryckman warns that if people don't find a way to remain dynamic they will become invisible. As he adds, "The problem is this. If you don't speak often enough and to the right people, you start to become invisible. When you don’t move, they can’t see you. It's not that your voice is fading. The problem is that all the other voices are getting louder -- and there are many more of them."

While this is certainly true, I have one question: How does one know they are speaking to the right people?

I mean, who decides who the right people are? My answer to this question is: The right people who decide is the people that want to be inspired by you. Your peers, co-workers, students, friends, family, and most certainly your children (if you have kids).

The rest of the post goes to talk about working hard to stay relevant otherwise "you'll begin to disappear -- overlapped and replaced by the flood of new voices and new stories." There is nothing but a world of truth in that statement.

Of course, you are the master/mistress of your fate. Only you can decide just how relevant you want to be. So do everyone a favor and stay relevant.

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• Dave Guerra • Pete Ryckman • Memo to C-Level Speakers blog • Age of Invisibility • relevance • public speaking • Give to the American Red Cross • Hire A Hero

A Trump Trait: Don't Fear Risk...

It's no secret that I am a big fan of Donald Trump and what it took for The Donald to get to the top of the game he plays. Back in January, I wrote a post titled Trump Traits. In that post, I listed 14 traits that Trump, himself, listed as the keys to his success in an episode of CNBC's Millionaire Inside. One of which is "Don't Fear Risk" and that's what I want to talk about today.

This past weekend, I blogged about making change because it was necessary and not for the sake of change. I also alluded to the fact that people will find any excuse not to make change and I mean any excuse not to be slimmer, not to start a business, not to write that book, not to get out of a relationship that they know is bad. Why? People look in the mirror and everyday ask themselves that same question: WHY?

Why can't I write that book? Why can't I lose those last 10 pounds? Why can't I leave? Why can't I make that change? Simply it's the risk involved and the fear of failure.

What if people don't like the book? What if I gain that weight back? What if I end up alone? What if? If's and why's are fear and risk and the fear of risk all rolled up into one.

This may be the biggest Trump Trait all of us have to face. DON'T FEAR RISK. Of course, it is easy for me to say (or write) but it is just as difficult for me as it is for you to embrace. We have to embrace it anyway, everyday, every waking moment. Let NOT FEARING RISK become your friend and your enemy at the same time.

Your friend in the sense that you can make NOT FEARING RISK your daily mantra. Knowing that now you can do what you want to do without having to think too much about what may or may not happen. NOT FEARING RISK is also knowing that you are fully prepared to accept the outcome of that change.

Your enemy in the sense that you cannot become complacent in embracing NOT FEARING RISK. Meaning that you should not just assume what changes you make or what you do happen without some form of risk or repercussion. You will always be held accountable for your actions, however, if you are prepared to accept and live with what happens then you are on the right track. Just don't let NOT FEARING RISK become static. Keep NOT FEARING RISK as a dynamic as possible. Don't let NOT FEARING RISK become mediocre.

Don't Fear Risk...Make that change happen now. You will be better for it.


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It's Your Choice: Your Past = Your Future or Your Past ≠ Your Future

Interesting things are happening around here. Change. Seems that the storms (Dolly & Edouard) brought in a little more than wind, rain, they also brought change. I had a great discussion yesterday with a friend and it was all about change. It was not about change for the sake of change, it was about seizing the moment and making those kind of changes we all need to make.

Here is a perfect opportunity to make those changes that will impact your life, your family, your job, your future. These are the changes that you always wanted to make but for some strange reason you thought it would be too difficult to do because you didn't have time or didn't have the money or don't have the right contacts. Let me pass along a little secret (promise not to tell): the moment you commit to make the change (no matter if it feels good or bad) is the moment you will find the time, find the money, and have the contacts.

It will all fall inline, but if you keep doing what you have always been doing then you will most certainly be living in your past and not moving towards a future that is a better you. Of course, for those that live in the past then you can most certainly assure yourself that your past WILL CONTINUE TO BE your future. That is unless you make change, not only happen but sustain it, as well.

In making change, one has to quit something in order to start something else. Am I advocating change as form of quitting? You bet I am. Seth Godin wrote a great book called The Dip. In that book, he said that it was OK to quit so long as that change (to quit) meant getting out of the Dip that you may find yourself in.

I am not telling you anything new...I am telling you, AGAIN, because it is that important. My friends don't let it take a Hurricane to make a change...right here, right now, make that change. If anyone asks, go ahead and tell them I said it was OK to make that change.

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• Dave Guerra • Seth Godin • The Dip • Quit • Change • Past • Present • Future • Make It Happen • Go For It • Move Ahead • American Red Cross

Back To Normal?

This week, I took a little time to decompress from the activities before, during, and after Hurricane Dolly. While it only managed to make Category 1, it still did some damage.

There was still a lot of prep that went on before the storm, as well as maintaining during the storm, recovery after the storm, and lastly prepping for the next storm. Then almost immediately after Dolly, Tropical Storm Edouard formed in the Gulf. While not in the path of that storm, I still had some personal and professional interests in the storm's projected path. My mind was in disaster recovery-mode and disaster prep-mode at the same time. Luckily, Edouard was nothing more than a welcomed rain storm.

Now, Dolly & Edouard are behind us and things are starting to get back to normal, but do things ever really get back to normal?

Things may appear like they are back to normal but deep down inside there is a stream of consciousness or a train of thought, that is just below the surface. That stream is centered on the next time.

How does one deal with that? It's easy; talk about it, put it in writing, make a plan. Soon things will start to work themselves out and with that you will start to focus less on the uncertainty about what you cannot control and more on what you can control.

Remember, Hurricane Season is far from over and natural disasters can happen at anytime. So do what you can now to be ready.

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• Dave Guerra • Hurricane Dolly • Tropical Storm Edouard • Disaster Recovery • Business Continuity • disaster planning • Contingency Plan • talk about it • American Red Cross

Internet is back

WooHoo!!! back into the 21st Century. Our current Internet Service Provider has us back online. It certainly was strange not being able to hop online when I wanted to or needed to. Let's hope no one has to go through what I went through this past week. Well, I will post more later.

Power is back

Power has been restored and we are happy campers. Then again there is still something like 75,000 people without power.

However, BIG KUDOS to those organizations that have kicked it up a notch and making it bearable for those individuals during their time of need.

MAD PROPS TO: State of Texas, Texas National Guard, Red Cross, Salvation Army, American Electric Power (AEP), Magic Valley Electric Cooperative, Hidalgo County Government, Cameron County Government, Willacy County Government, HEB, LOWES, and yes, even FEMA.

Keep up the good work and while you are at it, please update your websites to reflect your efforts and keep us up to date. Those of you that have done so, thanks.

Power Power...NO Power anywhere

I am thumbing the post from the keypad of my trusty Palm Centro. It seems that Hurricane Dolly may be history but she is still very much alive inthe sweaty, sticky hearts of the estimated 200,000 people without power here in deep south Texas. Yours truly included.

It has been over 24 hours since the power went out at home. It is understandable, a hurricane just blew by. However, once the storm past the work crews were out in full force. ..or so it seemed.

I live about 1 mile from two power plants (AEP & Magic Valley Electric Coop). At night I can see the lights of those facilities making 'lectricity. However, right I have to wonder who they are making for because they are not making it for me and my neighbors. As went enter the first evening after Hurricane Dolly, I can only think about two things as I see the facilities light up my night sky: how much are they going raise my rate because they worked to give power and how glad I am I found my car charger last week.

..and how was your day?

Happy Birthday to me (x2)

This past week I received something special and very interesting in the mail: a birthday card from my stockbroker. How nice? Not really.....

See, six months ago I received a birthday card from my broker. Yep, 2 cards in 1 year, six months apart. Both cards were signed by every broker in the local office of this NATIONALLY recognized brokerage firm (who happen to have their name on a sports center in the city of Brotherly Love).

I am starting to get a little nervous about these guys. Mind you, they do not hold the majority portion of my investments but they are the first brokerage firm I ever used so they have been with me for a long time. Up to this point, there was great customer to brand loyalty. Now I am not so sure.

I mean if these guys can't get my birth date right then what else aren't they getting right? I understand it's better to send two instead of one, however, they have documents that must filed with the federal government and along with my SSN, my date of birth is a key identifying component of those documents.

So now I have to ask two questions: (1)What else are they misrepresenting about me when they file documents with the federal government? (2)Who else are they misrepresenting when they file documents with the federal government?

Stick around to see how this one works out.

tag this: Dave Guerra, Stockbroker, Brand Loyalty, 2 Birthdays, Brokerage Firm, Critical Tax Information, SEC, See the light before the warning, Opportunity, Mediocrity, Complacency

Too Much, Too Fast??? (a Starbucks kind of story, well sort of)

By now you have heard what's happening over at Starbucks. Shutting down 600 or so units and displacing countless employees. Starbucks is obviously a victim of its own success. This not anything new and this will happen again to another company or companies. Currently, there are not that many nationwide organizations that have been expanding (at the speed of Starbucks) yet they are out there. There are two organizations that are on my radar: Best Buy and Walgreens.

I am not singling them out for any other reason than that I personally feel that while their brand is highly recognized it is also reaching a saturation point.

Best Buy: I don't know about your neck of the woods but these guys, in my neck of the woods, are expanding ALL over the place. I kid you not, the following statement is true: If I go the to busiest intersection in the town next to where I live and drive for 10 minutes in one of three directions I will be at the front door of a brand new BEST BUY store. Seems like a little "too much, too fast" kind of growth for me. Of course, this alone will not bring down the consumer electronics giant, but will certainly cripple it. The current economic situation is driving too many variables to make any kind of prognostication about the future of Best Buy and especially, its expansion plans.

Walgreens: This is no secret, over the past number of years the Walgreens organization has been buying up corner properties all over the U.S. and setting up shop. In my town, there are two Walgreens less than 5 minutes apart. How is that for market saturation?

So why does Walgreens pop up on my radar? With so many stores, one can't help but wonder when the bubble will burst for the Walgreens expansion? I bet the Deerfield, Illinois organization also took the news from Starbucks to heart, because on July 10 they issued a press release declaring that they will be scaling back "organic" growth "in fiscal 2009 to provide flexibility to invest in its core strategies and improve shareholder value."

However, this might not be enough to save Walgreens. There are just too many outside forces that are driving the economy right now and to X them out is not wise. There does exist, at least, two things that will help save Walgreens from (or at least slow down) a complete collapse and that is the aging population and the diabetes epidemic. So long as they can effectively deliver the product and service to support those two sectors of the healthcare industry, Walgreens stands to be around longer than those that do not or can not deliver.

So for now all I can offer, is that if you are invested in any of these two organizations please continue to monitor the situation very closely....I know I will.


tag this:
Dave Guerra, Best Buy, Starbucks, Walgreens, Store Closure, Prepare, See the light before the warning, Opportunity

2008.5 A.D.

The year is half over and where am I in my New Year's Resolution? Yep, I really did write New Year's Resolution...I know...I know...who do I think I am bringing up those three words so far into the year or so far from the start of the next one? Call me crazy but I am gonna do it.

When we started 2008, you may remember, I made a couple of resolutions. They were to read one book a month, run in a 10K race, Finish 2nd Draft of New Book by end of March, Drink less coffee, Drink more H20, and Volunteer. These were some pretty ambitious resolutions and as real life has a tendency of having its way with us, I am nowhere near where I should be by now. However, I am still fighting through and hopefully make it to the end of the year in one piece. Seriously, let's take a quick look at how things are progressing.

Reading: Not exactly one book a month. By now, you know I am working on my MBA full time and that takes up about 80% of my reading time. Still managed to sneak in a book here and there. This time it is The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon. WOW! What a book, I was not expecting what I got out of the Energy Bus. This book while did not rock me to my core, it certainly made me think about how I am doing things and how I am NOT doing things. So I got on the Bus and became a Chief Energy Officer. Thanks 800CEOREAD.com for including this AWESOME book to the Mystery Box offering, best $20 I ever spent.

Running: I am still hovering at the 5K mark and that's a good thing. Things have not progressed but with a little more focus and waking up a little earlier everyday I will start increasing the distance.

Writing the book: This is falls under creating my channel. I have been fine tuning the document and at some point I just need to stop fine tuning, otherwise it will never be finished, and get it ready for the world. Anyone out there care to recommend a Literary Agent that specializes in Business Leadership and Management books?

Drink less coffee & Drink more H20: I have been drinking so much Water that I am growing gills. As for the coffee, well all I can say is: I might need to rethink this resolution.

Volunteer: This one I am still trying to figure out where I fit in. Of course, I give money to charity and would like to do something more. Just have not found the right one. Of course, there have been some local charities that I have talked to and have done somethings for in the past but nothing nothing has panned out into a permanent situation.

That's about it for catching up on how things have been going with my 2008 New Year's Resolutions.

How are your resolutions doing?

tag this:
Dave Guerra, New Year's Resolutions, Updates, 2008, 800CEOREAD, Mystery Box, Focus, Opportunity

Father's Day 2008: Tim Russert style

By now all of us have heard of Tim Russert's untimely passing. Here was one of the good guys. Though I never met Mr. Russert personally, I have a few close friends who did.

They were giddy the first time they told me who they met. Back then I was not too keen on politics, politicos or anyone who dealt with then on a consistent basis, and neither were my friends but meeting Tim Russert was a high point in their young lives.

I never thought much about Russert and why my friends were so thrilled to meet him until one day I read the book "Big Russ and Me" by Tim Russert. It all changed then. He was now on my radar and I took notice.

Russert could have written about anything or anyone instead he wrote about his father. He gave his father the highest honor any child could give his or her father. It's is unfortunately, an honor that most fathers very seldom get when they are alive: Recognition from their children that their father raised a better person.

So now, Tim has left this world, but he is not gone. Today on Father's Day we take time to think of our fathers and by how Tim Russert and his two books on fathers changed how we will always see them.

For all the good and for all the bad, they are our fathers and nothing can ever change that fact. Of course some were better than others, still they remain tied to us and who we are now. Some fathers leave us too soon, whether by choice or by act of God they still made us stronger and better people.

Over the past couple of days since Mr. Tim Russert left us, someone said that if there was a time to lose Tim, it should be just as we start the Father's Day weekend. I could not agree more. Had he been around just a little while longer he would have been the picture we'd see when we lookup Father's Day in the dictionary.

To all you Kids out there: Tell your Dads HAPPY FATHER'S DAY (no matter where they are or what they are doing)

To all you Dads out there: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY


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Tim Russert, Big Russ and Me, Father's Day, Dave Guerra

Ever wonder

Ever wonder about an organization that courts you when they want something?

They will call you, they will send you some of the nicest emails, basically a lot courtesy on their part. The when it comes time to repay the courtesy and respond to that organization and/or it's representative that you are unable to commit or attend or just to just give a courteous "No, Thank You" you get the big blow off. This just re-confirms what they really thought of you; a name on a list that could make the numbers bigger thus hoping to make what they do relevant. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be relevant.

However, there is something very wrong with this shortsighted approach to doing business.

Organizations and individuals that work this way are not only burning bridges but don't see the big picture for what it is. They fail to see that this time next year, for example. The big annual gala is looking for sponsors but cannot court the ones that they dismissed last year and now have to scramble find new sponsors for their event.

While it is prudent to court existing sponsors and as well as those that were unable to deliver last year for the next event. Burning bridges prevents that from happening and could spoil any future relationships. Who knows, the next bridge that's burned may have very close ties to a High Profile individual that you may one day want to court.

As a word of advice to those organizations that burn bridges especially the kind that can deliver the $$$$ next time, try a simple "sorry you weren't there but here is what you missed" email. In my book, a message like that would all but seal the deal the next time they came calling.

Any thoughts?

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Dave Guerra, sponsorships, Bridge Burning, Burning Bridges, Marketing, Advertising, Missing the Boat, Opportunity

Rip-off Company Gets Ripped Off?

If a company is in the business of ripping their customers off, can they really be surprised when their own employees rip them off?

Seems that a local company, who is great at giving people the shaft by selling them a product they need but will go about financing the product at the highest interest rate possible and added unneeded extras only to jack up the amount being financed. Then they cite that the reason for the high interest rates they get for their customers is that their clientèle is more subprime than prime and therefore can only get "these kind of rates" from the lenders.

Then when it comes time to provide warranty support for the product, anything short of a federally mandated recall is the customer's fault and therefore is not covered under warranty. So there they go shafting the customer, again.

Well to make a long story short, a couple of the company's employees started ripping the company off, probably skimming off the top of the extra bill padding the company was already ripping off from the customer.

Well as all good things, the management discovered this and promptly fired the individuals and then, get this, issued a public statement that basically said they were shocked and appalled that something like this could happen.

You know it's Karma when thieves start stealing from thieves. As for being shocked and appalled, now you know how your customers feel after you give them the shaft.

Be Careful What You Wish For...

Last week, I posted how there were almost no advertisements for people to spend the Economic Stimulus Rebate money. Now, the money is pouring in and the I stand corrected, the advertisings are coming out of the woodwork, as well. Heck, I got an email from a Telescope vendor to specifically use my Economic Stimulus money to stimulate my imagination and buy a real cool telescope. Then it's like someone opened the flood gates, because the ads just keep coming. I will go on record as saying they arrived a little late but they are here none the less.

Unfortunately, there is no more economic stimulus money here...it has been spent and it's stimulating the economy (I hope). Besides, I already have a real cool telescope.

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Dave Guerra, Economic Stimulus, Money, Economy, Marketing, Advertising, Missing the Boat, Opportunity, TV Ads, Radio Spot, Web Ads

Another Missed Opportunity?

I don't know you or where you live, but where I live I have yet to see anyone do anything to promote spending the Economic Stimulus Money on any goods or services. No TV ads, no radio spots, no print ads, not even an online pop-up. If I am out of the loop, someone please clue me in.

I'm sorry but I just can't see why no one is taking advantage of all this money? During Tax season, here in the U.S., we have endless 30 second spots calling for people to bring in their W-2s and get a new car or in more recent years to use your tax return as a down payment on a new house. Don't forget about those nice people over at the payday loan place. They are forever, advertising on the radio.

Opportunity is knocking and yet again, no one is answering. This would be a prime opportunity for those mega-marts, that sell home improvement supplies and solutions, to get on the ball and take advantage of an opportunity. Think about it, using your Economic Stimulus check to buy stuff for around the house, fix things, or start a new DIY project. Personally, I am looking at tearing up that Berber carpet in the bedrooms and putting down laminate wood flooring. That way when it comes time to sell, I will not have to be scrambling to rip out that ugly Berber and scramble to put something down.

If advertisers around the country decided that it would be in bad taste for clients to promote their products and services during this state of economic noisy and confused activity then why didn't someone tell me? or was there just too much noise out there that the message got lost?

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Yikes!!! It's all about GOLD, again

Yes, it's time to revisit the latest happenings with GOLD. As of this writing, the closing price was $855.60. That sure is a long way from the $1000 high. Remember, my friend that wanted to ride the Gold wave as it was closing in on that magical 1K value. Good thing, someone knocked some sense into his head. Now he is putting his focus on finding the next big thing.

Good for him! What about you? Are you looking for the next big thing? I do hope you are. Just remember, that the next big shouldn't come at a price that you are not prepared to pay. Also don't forget, the economy is not what it used to be. So don't let the next big thing put you in a financial bind. As I am not telling you anything new, it does not hurt to say it again.

While I do not profess to know what the next big thing is, I do know that the only way to determine what the next big thing is is to do your homework. It is no secret that I am a big proponent of doing your homework, getting yourself informed, and taking responsibility for your actions. Take a little time and study the markets, they are not that difficult to understand once you get a few concepts under control.

Back to our topic. So Gold is down and has been going down since hitting it's high earlier this year. On the 1st of May, Gold closed up from what was a 30 day low. So where is the price of Gold going? Up or Down???? The popular theory has Gold going down to the $800 mark before any kind of notable up swing. Of course there are analysts that agree that the price of Gold will continue drop, however, not as far. They are favoring a $850 leveling off point (which we are close to now). I can pretty much believe this to be true. As I have written, it might be time to pull the trigger and get in on commodities trading (I mean if you ever were interested in doing so). However, there might be something to consider. Please read on.

Whether it's next week or next month, if you are planning to pull the trigger on a Gold buy, then you best be ready and the same thing can be said for Silver. Silver closed at $16.36/oz. which puts it up after closing April at the 30 day low of $16.15/oz. Does this signify a time to buy? Probably not. Historically, since the summer of 2002 and every summer since then Silver remains within the same price range at the end of August that it started off the beginning of May at. Check out this cool chart I made just for you.



Will Summer 2008 be any different?
I really don't think so. Then again, we did start May '08 on the upswing, so if anything we might just be able to make a couple of dollars. As for making the big bucks, if the lack of any real activity in the summer is any indicator, this may be the time begin creating a position in any commodity. By the way, here is the chart for gold.


Very Interesting, as Gold and Silver prices appear to be taking the summers off. They both start strong but lag throughout the summer months. I'll say it again this is a perfect opportunity to accumulate positions in securities thus building a strong portfolio exists and that is a good thing to do during the summer months?

Still not convinced?
Check out this chart which depicts the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing figures for the first and last days of May, June, July, and August of 2002 through 2007. By the way, these were the same dates used to create the Gold and Silver charts above.


I do hope you are bit more informed as to what might or might not be happening in the markets. Still, don't let this stop you from doing your home work. I know I will use these next four months to create a stronger portfolio.

As always, please know and understand: Past performance is NOT an indicator of future performance.

Let's Tag This With:
Dave Guerra, Gold, Silver, DJIA, Commodities, Stocks, Bonds, Economy, Portfolio, Money

In Defense of Food (or the Neverending Book)

Over the past two months I read Michael Pollan's book: In Defense of Food. It has been a great read. While lately I have been reading business books that are part of my MBA courses. I had to push back the leisure reading or snuck it in when I could.

Before I start, you should know that I have failed on my reading a different book each month New Year's Resolution. While I don't feel bad for failing, I do feel bad that at this point I will have 10 books under my belt instead of 12. Oh well, maybe next year.

Anyway, I read this book and found it to be quite interesting. At first I thought, this guy is going to give lip service to the modern fad diets and then sneak in one of his own. Well technically he does, he does in a very interesting and thought provoking manner. We are given a history of the current dinner table, Pollan does so in a way that allows us to know where to place the blame.

Now this is not to say that one person is guilty of the dietary situation of the citizens of the United States or the world for that matter. The blame goes to all of us. We are all to blame for this because we did it to ourselves and Pollan tells us so in a way that is in our face but doesn't make us want to runaway. Pollan offers us some great ideas on how to recapture what we lost the moment we our first sip of high fructose corn syrup.

On the cover of the book are seven words or three sentences that sum up the entire book: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." That's it, that's the book. Michael Pollan delivers a recipe for good food, good health, and good living that one wonders why didn't somebody else think of it before now?

Just because I took a long time to finish the book doesn't mean I didn't try things along the way. The first week of March I ate food exclusively from the perimeter of the supermarket. Think about what you will find in the perimeter of the supermarket. That is where you will find the fresh vegetables, fresh meat, dairy products, and eggs. Hmmm, this reminds me of a logic question I had in college "why are eggs found in the dairy section of the grocery store?" Eggs are not dairy products, cows don't lay eggs, and certainly eggs don't taste like milk. But I digress.

So how did my experiment go? I will have to say it was a great success. While I did not lose a lot of weight, I did start to feel better. You could say I almost felt lighter. It was interesting to eat salads as opposed to eating starches (Rice, potatoes, corn). After the first week, I was craving rice and potatoes, so I gave in. I did not completely submit but I did give in, in that I flipped my starches and vegetables. Meaning that when I would normally eat a lot of mashed potatoes I have now flipped that and eat more greens thus less of the starches.

The book is actually now helping me achieve other of New Years resolutions, that is to lose weight and lower my blood pressure (without medicine). Please understand that In Defense of Food, it is not a heavy read it does have a lot to offer. if you're looking for something to quickly sink your teeth into, then this is the book for you. Looking for recipes and quick fad diets this is not the book for you.

I can finally begin, microtrends by Mark J. Penn. You may recall microtrends was the book that I wanted to buy and read before In Defense of Food. However, an NPR interview with Pollan got me hooked and I bought his book first. Luckily, it was the good people over at 800-CEORead that had an awesome offer that I could not refuse. They were giving away three books for $20 which was donated to the Room-to-Read organization. Call it karma, I bought into the Mystery Box program over at 800-CEORead and when my box arrived right on top was microtrends.


Taking a quick peek of the books read so far:

• Join the Conversation by Joseph Jaffe
• Be, Know, Do: Leadership the Army Way, Adapted from the Official Army Leadership Manual by J-B Leader to Leader Institute/PF Drucker
• In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
  

Let's tell Technorati to tag this with:
Dave Guerra, Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food,
Green Leafy Vegetables, Microtrends, Mark J. Penn, 800 CEOREAD, Room-to-Read