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Friday Filosophy #2015-1

You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.

Aristotle

 

When a man feels throbbing in him the power to do what he undertakes as well as it can possibly be done, this is happiness, this is success.
Orison Swett Marden

 

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.

Henry Ellis

 

The time is now…

 

This month I want to highlight Orison Marden

 

  1. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.

 

  1. Believe with all your heart that you will do what you were made to do.

 

  1. Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.

 

  1. All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.

 

  1. We cannot rise higher than our thought of ourselves.

 

  1. If you do not feel yourself growing in your work and your life broadening and deepening, if your task is not a perpetual tonic to you, you have not found your place.

 

  1. There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.

 

  1. Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.

 

  1. The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment, it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others, it is in yourself alone.

 

  1. What keeps so many people back is simply the unwillingness to pay the price, to make the exertion, the effort to sacrifice their ease and comfort.

 

 

May 2015 be everything that each of you desires and deserves.

Happy New Year…

 

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Friday Filosophy #2014-49

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Albert Einstein

 

Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last.
Samuel Johnson

 

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
William Arthur Ward

 

The time is now…

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Friday Filosophy #2014-47

Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude toward us.

Earl Nightingale

 

Leadership appears to be the art of getting others to do something you are convinced should be done.

Vance Packard

 

Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.

Dale Carnegie

 

The time is now…

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Friday Filosophy #2014-46

One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for the opportunity when it comes.

Benjamin Disraeli

 

There’s no limit to what a man can achieve, if he doesn’t care who gets the credit.

Lang Burns Jr.

 

Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.

Benjamin Disraeli

 

It is hard to soar with the eagles if you stay up with the turkeys at night.

Man is like the turtle; in order to get ahead you must stick your neck out.

 

The time is now…

Words of Wisdon #17

Today I want to introduce you to Orison Swett Marden. He was an inspirational writer born in 1850 died 1924.

  • Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
  • Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.
  • A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from the inhospitable surroundings, is the price of all great achievements.
  • All men who have achieved great things have been great dreamers.
  • There can be no failure to a man who has not lost his courage, his character his self-respect or his self-confidence. He is still a King.
  • Success is the child of drudgery and perseverance. It cannot be coaxed or bribed; pay the price and it is yours.
  • Joyfulness keeps the heart and the face young. A good laugh makes us better friends with ourselves and everybody around us.
  • There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no time so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.
  • We make the world we live in and shape our own environment.
  • There is an infinite difference between a little wrong and just right, between fairly good and the best, between mediocrity and superiority.

 

I find Orison Mardens’ thoughts very insightful. Unknowingly I have used this approach in my personal and professional life.

The time is now..

 

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Words of Wisdom

Now that 2014 is well underway I have finally settled on the theme for my work this year.

Change the game….. don’t just compete.

  • For too long too many of us have been selling price not value
  • For too long too many of us have been continuing to do what we have always done
  • For too long too many of us have working in the company not on the company
  • For too long too many of us have been settling for poor performance
  • For too long too many of us have answered the why questions with because
  • For too long too many of us have let time pass rather than making it count.
  • For too long too many of us have not had a purpose we have had a job

It is time to change all of that. It is time to change the game. Don’t just compete.

The time is now.

Product Support Goals for 2014

I would like to present some challenges to the Product Support professional in the readership.

  • One: Increase the inventory of labor hours available for sale by 25% by December 31, 2014.
  • Two: Increase the Parts Sales Revenue from CUSTOMERS by 15% in real terms.
  • Three: Increase customer retention by 5% points for the 12 months of 2013 and the 12 months of 2014.
  • Four: Increase customer “touches” so that 90% of the active accounts (customer who purchase parts or service) are covered by a sales employee (product support sales or in-store sales personnel)
  • Five: Establish a training plan for each parts and service employee that requires 80 hours of learning per person.
  • Six: Product an absorption rate of a minimum of 100% the old fashioned way. Exclude rentals and cover sales and administration and interest expenses with the net income of parts and service.

This list is a serious challenge but one that needs to be considered and executed.

The time is now.

Out with 2013 and in with 2014

To each and every one of you I extend my best wishes for you professionally and personally for 2014. May all your expectations and dreams be realized.

The time is now.

Thought of the day

Between 2010 and 2030 the exodus of about 79 million baby boomers from the workforce will offer many jobs and career opportunities.

The trick will be finding the people to fill those jobs with the right skills and education.

The time is now.

 

A Personal Note #3

Some time ago I spoke of my grandson and I going to the barbershop together and calling it a “man date.” He didn’t much like haircuts as the clippers made noise and they tickled him. Well he has long since grown out of that but we still enjoy our “man dates.” He is on a swimming team now and is learning his strokes and getting plenty of exercise. So his last haircut was one any swimmer would have enjoyed. It was less than a quarter inch all around. Thankfully this young man has a nicely shaped head and the hair cut looks cool.

One of the few things we can leave to our grandchildren is the time we spend with them. Enjoy your families and spend time with the little ones. It is important. If you think about it time and our undivided attention is really all we have to give them.

The time is now.