Category Personal Development

A couple weekends ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Vital Signs EMS conference in Syracuse, NY (thanks to Tri Community Ambulance).  This conference is put on every year by the New York State Department of Health Bureau of EMS to help EMTs from Basic to Paramedic sharpen their skills via a variety of classes and workshops, as well as accrue their continuing education hours.  One of the classes I took was on team building within the organization.  I picked up a lot from the class, but one thing that stuck with me was a simple activity that helps small groups come to a solution to a simple problem, and really starts to show the dynamics that develop early in a group.

To build the kit, you’ll need a small plank of wood (4″ x 4″ or so), 10 nails of the same length, and 3 nails that a...

“Inaction is perhaps the greatest mistake of all.” Charles Schumer

I’ve had a project that I have been “picking” at for probably a year.  And another that I’ve been working on since before I graduated college.  Neither of these projects get the attention they deserve.  I can claim that it’s because I don’t have the time, but I’d find the time if I REALLY wanted it.  I let projects sit idle because I don’t know how they will turn out.  They could be tremendous successes.  Or they could be ABSOLUTE FAILURES.  And that fear of failure is what keeps me paralyzed.

Time to reframe my mindset, and finally start pushing forward on some of the “maybe someday” projects.

A colleague referred me to this document recently while we were having coffee.  I decided to give it a look over, and found that a lot of these principles can be applied to my own business – perhaps you can apply them to yours as well?

1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that, when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose, you may get it.
6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10.  Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding.
12. Don’t take counsel of your...

When Seinfeld first started airing on NBC, Jerry was still a touring comic.  In order to make sure that he was always flush with new material, he forced himself to write every single day.  In order to track himself, and keep him motivated never to skip a day, he came up with a calendar system.  Long story short, every day that he wrote, he got to put a big red X in that day on the calendar.  Soon the Xs became a chain, and Jerry was then determined to never let the chain break, and thus he developed the habit to write every day.

I’ve taken the same concept and applied it to my business, using a spreadsheet.  Every day that I prospect for new business, write an article on my blog, or any of a number of daily tasks, I get to put the X on the spreadsheet to keep the chain growing...

If you’ve had the opportunity to meet me, either in a real estate capacity or personally, you know that I’m a bigger guy.  I’m currently undertaking a new mission:  Drop the weight!  I’ve started a second blog, specifically to my fitness.  Please feel free to check it out, and comments are absolutely encouraged.  I’ll also be posting some of my favorite recipes over there as well.  What are you waiting for?  Head on over to Fatty Gets Fit!

Back in December, I wrote an article on my switch to Skype for my calls made while at my desk, to cut back on the number of cell phone minutes I was burning through each month.  After calculating savings, I realized I was saving $631.70 per year by going with a VoIP provider as opposed to Verizon.  At the time I was using a headset connected to my desktop.  Since then, I’ve gotten a bit more technologically advanced.

I recently came across a product put out by D-Link, which plugs into the USB port on my computer and allows me to make Skype calls from a normal phone!  In addition, if I had a regular phone line, I could plug that in as well which would allow me to make and recieve phone calls from either line...