I almost lost my daughter last Friday.  No, I’m not kidding and no, I don’t mean in the relationship sense.  My daughters and I are best friends.

I mean drowning – in the ocean – in Jamaica.

It was really weird, because from the moment she told me she was going to Jamaica with friends, I felt unease.  That is really not like me – normally I would say Wow!  Great!  Have a fantastic time!  But something was just nagging at me …

Fortunately for me, she told me the story after she came home, knowing that would be the best way for me.

It all started with a trip to the beach.

She and one of the girls had been out on the catamaran on Thursday and had the most beautiful experience, that when they went back to the beach on Friday, they cajoled  their third friend into accompanying them, even though she was fairly adamant that she didn’t want to go.  The sky was sunny and clear, except for a little darkness far away towards the other side of the island.

About 5 minutes into the trip, the wind started kicking up and the guide attempted to turn the catamaran back to shore  – without success.  He then had the bright idea for all of them to go to one side of the thing to give him the leverage to turn.  As the waves were kicking up, a good-size wave came up under the catamaran and dumped them all into the ocean.  Nicole and Amy were freaking out at first, trying to swim toward the boat.  The guide yelled for them to stay away from the boat, and in an instant they found out why – it violently righted inself and took off like a shot.  There they were – out in the ocean – not even able to see land.

As the boat took off, Nicole and Amy became instantly calm, knowing that there was nothing good that would come from being hysterical.  After all, they both are moms of three and have seen hysterical up close and personal.  Now, in case you’re wondering why I’m not mentioning friend #3, she was hysterical the entire time and that’s all I’m going to say about that.

The guide at this point didn’t seem very worried and told them to all hold hands – that he was sure someone would have seen the boat flip and would send a rescue boat for them.

It was at that point the guide, whose name was Patrick, started to peer down into the water, looking around.  When Nicole asked him what he was looking for, he told her his face was getting dried out from the salt water and he was just getting it wet.  Kindly of weird since by now they were in the middle of a full-fledged thunder, lightening, pouring rain and violent waves type of storm.

So there they bobbed, getting dunked constantly by the waves, being force-fed salt water by the ocean and trying to remain calm.  About what seemed like 15 minutes or so into the ordeal when they didn’t see any boats, Patrick wasn’t looking very assured at all.  He wasn’t hysterical, but I believe the phrase “he looked scared shitless” may have been used.

After Amy and Nicole tried to sing for awhile (Row, row, row, your boat – where the hell are the boats?), they realized that they were being pulled farther and farther out to sea.  If they caught a good wave and were lifted up, they could see land – not their beach, but what looked like a small island in the distance.  Nicole and Amy decided to swim toward the island, even though they knew they would not be able to make it.  Patrick was telling them – no!  stay here!  But at that point they didn’t think bobbing in the middle of the ocean was the best plan either.  They started swimming in the direction of the island, with friend #3 in tow, and Patrick following.

You’re probably wondering about the boats.  Well, they did see the boats and tried to yell for them, realizing they were just wasting their strength because the boats looked like little dots and of course couldn’t hear them.  And there was a lifeguard on the beach that did see the boat flip over and immediately ran for a wave runner.  Another wave runner and two other boats followed and were looking for them the whole time.  It’s a very big ocean, however …

Long story short(er), a guy on one of the boats noticed “birds” flapping in the distance and wondered what the heck they were doing in the middle of a storm.  Yep!  That was them!  When Amy and Nicole were finally deposited into one of the boats, it ran out of gas at which point Nicole yelled “Are you kidding?  You rescued us in a boat that didn’t have gas?”

No, I’m not kidding – you just can’t make this stuff up!  So they were told to jump into the other boat as the boats were violently being smacked together, and they made the 20-minute boat ride back to shore.

Patrick finally confessed to looking in the water for man-o-wars which can wrap around your legs, causing painful stinging, numbness in the limb and respiratory distress.  Nice.  I would have been thinking sharks, but  what do I know?

I can’t possibly tell this story as humorously as Nicole can (because I’m still trying to find the humor in it), but I did manage to laugh while she was telling it – she has an amazing sense of humor (husband and 3 kids – I guess she has to).

Talk about seeing what’s truly important in your life.  I always try not to sweat the small stuff – and I think I’m very good at it.  But this was not small stuff …

I hope I never ever have to go through what millions of mothers have gone through – because this close call was as close as I ever want to get.

Not too long ago

I was asked to give my opinion on how women are portrayed in media.  Perfect question for me since I have very strong opinions on the subject.  My current opinions are how I’ve always felt, by the way, even as a teenager.  Don’t think I thought about it at all before then, or maybe it’s because commercials weren’t as sexual when I was growing up.

Being a mature woman now, well into my 40’s, some people are likely to put it down to my age – I’m prudish or whatever (which is enough to make me wet myself laughing!).  No, it’s like Andy Rooney was supposed to have said about women in their 40’s – we have come to love ourselves and have complete confidence in what we do and say. (He didn’t actually write “In Praise of Older Women,” btw)

I’ve heard all too often that women who don’t appreciate the “sex” approach to women in commercials weren’t attractive girls nor sexual in their lives, or at least aren’t any more.  Maybe I’ve always been a little “different,” shall we say (no details today, folks).  I believe I was fairly attractive throughout my life – I was never jealous of those women with the way-too-sprayed hair and caked-on makeup.  I just always wondered why women wouldn’t want to be showing more of their  intelligent side in commercials and thus showing the world of men that we are intelligent.  Will that not sell product to other intelligent women?

I thought that maybe these girls “weren’t so smart”

so they got stuck having to show off their bodies like that on TV/print ads for every perv to stare at.  I didn’t feel jealousy – I felt pity and empathy for them.  And also a little bit of anger for them allowing people (I mean mostly men here) to think of women as just what they were portraying.

I remember once being at a conference

where we had a booth on a new device which was along the lines of a coulter counter (which counts the particle size of blood). Our booth was about a particle size analysis device from Japan which we were trying sell.  It used Stokes’ Law as the principle of suspending particles in a certain medium, depending upon the material, and then measuring the particles as gravity (or the centrifuge) pulled them down.  ANYWAY, there I stood, dressed as a businesswoman did in the early 80’s with a conservative skirt and blouse.  Do you know how many men came on to me?  Asked me if I was the eye candy to bring in the people?  But I kept my cool, smiling and then trying to explain the way our device worked.  It was rather amusing to  see their faces change as they realized – hey!  this chick’s got a brain!  But to their defense, there WERE a lot of booths that had “eye candy” to bring the men in.  (What does that say about the men, I wonder?)

My point:

I don’t think women who have allowed themselves to be portrayed as mere sex objects or “silly” women on TV/print ads have done us any favors – women in business, that is.  As I pointed out in the article, it seems to me the “real” women are seen more often in ED commercials for Levitra or Viagra.

Huh.

While I haven’t come up with more conclusive evidence about “Virtual Assistant” vs. “Virtual Business Professional,” I do have an exciting announcement to make:

I now have a graphic artist and website designer who has joined my team.  He would definitely fall under “Virtual Business Professional,” even though he assists me by designing websites for my clients. 

(Couldn’t resist slipping that in there)

While he’s already working with one of my clients to create a website, he will soon be updating part of my website as well.  He’s quite the genius, he is!

And Now For Something Completely Different,

Know the history of “OK”?  Click here.  (I’m a huge Monty Python fan.)

In addition to all the services we now provide:

• Administrative and Personal Assistance
• Copywriting/Editing/Proofreading
• Email Management
• Calendar Management/Meeting and Travel Scheduling
• Research
• Transcription
• Marketing
• Social Media Networking
• Event Planning

(to name only some of the services we provide), we now provide website design and maintenance.  Is your website more than 5 years old?  It’s out-of-date!  We can update an existing website or create one to meet your exact budget and needs.

Need rebranding? 

We can help you with that as well.  Rebranding and marketing – what a wonderful way to jump start your business in this economy!

Questions?

You know how to reach me!  Give me a call and let me tell you how we can help you grow your business.

Big Welcome!

Welcome, Greg!  I look forward to working with you and am thrilled to have you on my team!

Coming Soon

Three levels of bookkeeping support join Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC. 

Happy New Year!

Resolutions . . .

Personally I don’t make New Year resolutions – personal resolutions, that is.  It can be like setting yourself up for failure.  Although I did make a New Year’s resolution not to iron any more – about 20 years ago.  It’s gone quite well, actually.

But seriously, resolutions for your business – especially in this economy – is a necessity! 

Following are my top ten Professional New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Recession?  What recession?  Ignore that part of the news.  I personally am choosing not to participate in this recession.  We all know it’s going to be over eventually – hopefully sooner than later – and if you tend to be a bit on the negative side to start with, you really need to ignore the hype!  Stay positive and make sure your business plan for 2009 is in line with current business trends and remember:  concentrate on keeping the customers / clients you already have!!
2. Grow your business.  How?  By freeing up more of your time to work on bringing in more business!  Hire a Virtual Assistant (of course) to do the things that are taking up your time needlessly.  We’ve talked about all the benefits of this before! 
3. Get and keep your name out there.  Are you doing the marketing that you should be?  Keeping up with a blog, doing press releases, email campaigns to keep in touch with your clients, designing flyers, mailers, etc., etc.?  No?  Costs too much?  Keeping your name out there is priceless!  People will remember your name if they see it enough, and you will earn their trust.  If your name disappears, you know the old saying – out of sight, out of mind.  And who can you get to help you with all of this?   (call me)
4. Expand your marketing/advertising budget.  Pretty much, see No. 3.  I know you’re afraid to spend money right now, but try to trim your budget elsewhere.  Like, say, hiring a Virtual Assistant to help you rather than hiring additional staff (payroll taxes, benefits, equipment, maintenance, etc., etc.).
5. Use your talents.  Ever spend so much time on your clients and customers that you forget about your own business needs?  A very common mistake.  But if you’re not keeping up with your own marketing and you’re a marketing firm, or your website needs updating and you’re a website designer . . .  you get the picture.
6. Increase your networking.  Never underestimate the power of networking.  And that means helping out others as well as yourself.  See my guest blog at http://joshuadelung.blogspot.com/ for more networking tips.
7. Volunteer.  I know, I know.  You’re so busy trying to get your business either off the ground or keep it growing, how are you ever going to have time to volunteer?  Volunteering your time – and it doesn’t have to be a huge amount of time – is another way to get your name out there and be recognized, increasing the trust factor.  Find something that you’re passionate about.  It will make you feel really good about yourself.
8. Testimonials.   Ask your good customers/clients for testimonials and put them out there for people to see.  Your website, blog, email marketing campaign, etc.  Again, build trust.
9. How do you look?  I’m not trying to get personal, just trying to get you to look at yourself with regard to your business.  If you’re in a business that doesn’t necessiate a suit and tie, how do you dress at a casual function?  Consider a collared and/or buttoned shirt with your logo on the left pocket area.  Always double-check that you look neat.  That first impression thing does carry weight.
10. Green!  Take a look at your business and see where improvement can be made towards going green.  Not only is this great for the environment, you can announce to the world that you’ve gone green!  I love that it’s finally  cool to be green, speaking as a tree-hugger from way back!  Don’t know how to go green?  Contact me.  I’d be happy to review your business with you and offer suggestions.

There you have it!  Ten simple ways to give your business a boost in 2009.   Have any others you would like to share?  Love to hear from you!

I wish you all a happy, prosperous New Year!

With Thankgiving behind us, and Black Friday,

have you given thought to what you would be giving everyone this Christmas?  Here I could go into how Christmas is not about shopping, how I grew up celebrating Christmas on December 6 when St. Nicholas would come and put either candy or coal in my shoes which were placed at the end of the bed . . . but I won’t.  Because let’s face it – we all know what Christmas really should be about.  About giving to others — but does that mean buying stuff?  Of course it does.  Or does it? 

Gratitude

I just got a wonderful email from a friend that I just loved.  It was basically that you shouldn’t just have gratitude for what you’ve GOT, but for what you GIVE.  Ties in pretty good with Christmas, I’m thinking.

gratiis – Latin for “out of kindess” or “to please”

tude – a condition, state or quality

So instead of keeping a gratitude journal on what you’re thankful for receiving or having (yes, some people keep one), keep one of all the little and big things you do every day that you GIVE.  For example, hold the door open for someone and smile.  Pass along any good information to someone lately?  Say kind words to someone?  Resist the urge to respond to someone surly with the same?  Just remember:  everyone is dealing with their own “stuff,” and it may not be good stuff.  Try to smile and say something kind to everyone – it may just be what they need at that particular moment. 

Free Stuff to Give

• A smile                                 I wouldn’t mind a smile, hug, kind word or greeting from this guy:)
• A hug                                                                                                
• A kind word
• A greeting
• A wave
• Your time  (priceless!)

Inexpensive Stuff to Give

• Change to a Salvation Army bell ringer
• Baked goods that you’ve given your time (free) to make
• Some sort of crafty thing you’ve made from stuff around the house

Necessary Stuff to Give

A good backup system.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE – tell me you back up your stuff!!  Of course you do, I apologize for even thinking that you don’t.  So maybe you KNOW someone who doesn’t have a great backup system.  I tend to be a little phobic about backing up, so I have an external drive I back up to, and I back up on line.  There are tons of them out there from a little expensive to ridiculously expensive.  I use Carbonite and so far I love it.  It just keeps running in the background, so there’s no down time.  Gotta’ love that!

But there’s also:

Mozy – I’ve heard good things, but I obviously can’t endorse it since I don’t use it – you’ll have to do the research on this one yourself.  But I just found out there’s a coupon – ONLY GOOD UNTIL NOVEMBER 30, though.  Sorry – just found out about it.

Here’s a link that will give you online backup reviews.  Not a bad read.

So you’re saying B-O-R-I-N-G – maybe, maybe not.  Like a lottery ticket – boring until you win – or in this case, until you crash!  You’d be a hero!

Charitable Stuff

How about donating in someone’s name?  Last year for Christmas I sat down with my granddaughter (I happen to be a very young grandmother, BTW), and explained to her how people in other countries didn’t have food like we do or the resources to raise animals or grow vegetables.  We looked through the Heifer International catalog together and she picked a cow that she wanted to donate.  After I explained to her that GG (that’s me) couldn’t afford to give a cow, she chose bunnies.  What a wonderful gift to give on behalf of a client, too.  Just make the donation and send them a card with the donation that you’ve made in their name.  They will remember you for that, I’m sure, and you’ve just got another entry for your journal!

This would be a great time to mention how invaluable a Virtual Assistant could be to you this season.  I have a client that gave me a budget, a list of people to send to and, after asking him a few questions as to what types of things he wanted to give, I have plenty of time to search for and have delivered the perfect holiday presents for his clients.  He spent 15 minutes giving me the information and instruction – now he’s finished!

Here are some more great links:

http://www.justgive.org/give-now/gift-cards/index.jsp

http://www.changingthepresent.org/

Habitat for Humanity
http://www.habitat.org/donation/gfth/

Philabundance:
https://www.philabundance.org/takeactionnow/tan_financial_tribute.asp

Marines – Toys for Tots
https://secure3.convio.net/tft/site/Donation2?idb=1689888040&df_id=1233&1233.donation=form1

So don’t kill yourself fighting traffic — not to mention the money on gas, parking, tolls, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY – the emissions!!!! — and searching for that perfect gift for everyone – look into your heart and at the ideas above.  Of course, if you had a wonderful VA like me, this would be your easiest holiday season ever!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

In Pursuit of Happiness Week!

(Scroll down for The Business Side)

Yep!  And today is Marine Corp Day; tomorrow - Veterans Day; Thursday – World Kindness Day; Friday – Loosen Up and Lighten Day; and Saturday – America Recycles Day (which just happens to be our monthly day to recycle where I live).

The Personal Side

Everyone is in the Pursuit of Happiness, it seems.  And we should be in the pursuit of happiness every single day because remember – happiness sometimes comes to us in surprisingly easy ways, but the days that it doesn’t plop itself down in front of you, you have to dig a little.  As for the surprising ways, take a second to watch this video by Flossie.com.  Hysterical!!

Someone very close to me was telling me how depressed she was, what a horrible life she’s had, etc., etc.  It is my belief that I’m a very compassionate person — but not for people who wallow in themselves.  If you’re not happy, I told her, it’s because you don’t want to be happy.  Happiness comes from within, and some days we need to search a little harder than others.  I’ve certainly done my share of searching.  (And I certainly was not referring to “clinically depressed” – entirely different)

Some people that are happy right now without searching are everyone who voted for Obama, of course, and apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger is, too!  But seriously, I have heard there are people out there who are not happy about Obama winning – to a scary fault.  If you know someone like that, please beg their patience to see what happens.  If we can at least push aside the divisiveness of the last eight years, we’ve already made huge gains.

I was told a very long time ago that “if you think YOU’VE got it bad, you should see . . . “  At the time I didn’t understand, but now that I’ve lived life a bit more, I completely understand!!  There is ALWAYS someone, SOMEWHERE that is suffering more than you.  You are not entitled to happiness just because – you are not ENTITLED to anything!  You need to be positive, look at life as the beautiful thing it is, and know that every person you meet is battling their own battles, so be kind!  The best saying I’ve heard in this regard is an old Indian saying, “Never judge a man until you walk a mile in his moccasins.”  If we all lived with that adage, the world would certainly be a better place!!

So, thank a Marine today!  Have compassion for a Marine’s family – he or she may not be home for the holidays.  Or worse, may never be home again.

Thank a Veteran tomorrow!  See above.  And hopefully the new administration will improve benefits to our armed forces.  They are fighting for US!!  They deserve to come home to the best treatment and health care available.  If only they had the same care as the politicians that don’t make sure they get the best care.

World Kindness Day – self-explanatory.  It’s what you learned as a toddler when you mother said, “be nice!” when you weren’t sharing your toys or weren’t playing nicely.  Just smile more to people and watch their face.  It will certainly look much happier immediately!  Why, they may even pass on that smile to someone else who needs it!

Loosen Up and Lighten Day – another self-explanatory day!  I know someone who should live life more often like that – do you?

America Recycles Day – should be EVERY SINGLE day!  Come on – use your head!  Where do you think all your trash goes??  RECYCLE!!  I watched the Rock Solid guys guys install a recycled paper countertop recently.  Very cool.

So for pursuit of happiness week, celebrate the above days, and I guarantee you’ll be on your way to a higher level of happiness!

The Business Side

Are you happy with your business?  Your life?  Are the two intertwined so much that you can’t tell them apart?  What if you had a cost-effective way to help you manage your business which, in turn, would give you more time to enjoy your life?  Believe me – I know from personal experience - that your life can change in a second, and everything you are working so hard for, that you thought you would get to in time, can abruptly change.  To help you HERE and NOW, without waiting for some time in the future to enjoy life, a Virtual Assistant (VA) can assist you at a fraction of the cost of an in-office assistant.  With:

• no payroll taxes
• no benefits
• no equipment to maintain
• no office space to provide

you truly can have peace of mind when you develop a professional relationship with a VA.  My clients are content in knowing that they can email me or call me any day with requests: 

• Dictation (from notes, correspondence to a large proposal)
• Research (anything you need to find or find out about)
• Personal tasks (Nickey, can you find me Chinese lessons, send flowers to someone, find me a car to rent, etc.  . . . ?)
• Email management (ask me how I can help you lessen your time combing through emails)
• Scheduling (maintaining a calendar, scheduling meetings, travel arrangements)

Let me help you enjoy life a little more by lessening your workload.  You should be concentrating on your business, not all the little tasks that go with it!  Give me a call to discuss what I can do for you to make your life happier – this is the perfect week for it!

There it is – finally!!  A way to reduce my bum!  I’m so very excited about this.  I’ve been planning this ever since I saw this on a blog post ages ago!  There’s an actual website that talks about buying a treadmill desk (for $4,000 or so which I obviously didn’t do), or making a desk to sit on top of your existing treadmill – et voila!  (Thanks, Bill)   The idea is to get you moving, even if it’s not marathon-like, improving your circulation, heart and yes – mind!

I can’t do everything walking on it – yet.  But typing this blog, for example, responding to emails, any type of data entry stuff, bookkeeping, reading anything on-line - anything like that is just fine.  I’ve been averaging between 4 to 5 miles a day, and that’s certainly more than I was doing before!  (about 4 to 5 miles a day more)  Think about the long-term effects this small amount of daily exercise can have on our society!  Healthier people bring down health insurance costs (in theory).  You won’t need to go to a gym (just get yourself some weights, but that’s for a different blog) so you’ll be saving money on a gym membership and can use that money to stimulate the economy! 

You’ll BE healthier so you’ll EAT healthier, buying more organic produce from local farmers, thereby encouraging the larger farmers to stop spraying their produce with harmful toxins that we ingest. 

With less toxins in our water and food supply, the animals we eat will be healthier, thus passing along better, more wholesome meat and milk products to our children.  We then see a decline in childhood cancer and other health disorders such as autism and ADD.  Our children grow up healthier and smarter and solve the climate crisis faster than we’re able.

SEE??  A treadmill desk can save the world! 

Ok, then . . .

Other tips to exercising at work when you don’t have a treadmill desk:

• Do not sit more than 45 minutes at a time – get up and get a drink of water, visit the bathroom, etc.
• Tightening your bum cheeks – you can obviously do this while sitting down – or if you’re adventurous, try doing this while walking and watch your co-workers laugh!
• Try to stand up every 15 minutes and stretch – reach for the sky, bend over (if you’re not wearing a short skirt and have a little privacy), twist from side to side
• Place your palms together in front of you and point your fingers toward you, away from you, toward you – you get it.  A great stretch for your wrists and lower arms.
• Keep your palms together and push together – hold to the count of 5 and release.  Raise your arms a little and repeat; raise more and repeat
• Gently tilt your head side to side slowly, then back and forth for instant shoulder relaxation

OK – exercise time over!  Now you’re armed with a way to not only get great exercise, but to save the world!

Oh, and I have to tell you, talk about delicious, healthy eating??  Look at my sidebar at recommended people.  Mike Schmidt from Shackamaxon Catering - unbelievable!!  (my wedding caterer)  GREAT food and a fantastic menu.  We  had 8 different appetizers, (some butlered) three different entres, a fantastic potato and season veggies (squash, broccoli, etc.).  Just delicious!  Healthy?  Sure!  The chocolate fondue in both milk and dark chocolate?  Not so much.  (I have heard that dark chocolate is good for you.  That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!)   But absolutely amazing.  There was a lot of fresh fruit, of course, that you could eat without chocolate, too!  And the people?  Mike, Ed, Rick, Tyrell – the nicest, most professional people I’ve met.  Everything was just perfect!  Thanks again, Mike!

Oh yea, and YOU NEED A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT!  WE ALL DO!

Charlie at my wedding

Animals in MY workplace, anyway!  Yes, I am an animal person.  For those of you who know me, that’s old news.  My life would be very empty without them, although at times it’s a bit trying.  Like when I’m on the phone with a client and my cockatoo decides she’d like a word with the person on the phone, too.  I know a client of mine who enjoys them downstairs (from my office where you can’t hear them) much better!   Actually around dinner time you can hear them – as my neighbor up the street told us.  (All I could say was sorry.)  They are very needy, birds are.  So if you’re thinking that they would be “cool” to have, PLEASE read about each type of bird before you take the plunge.  They are like dogs – each having a completely different personality and did I say needy?

But besides little old man, Charlie, I’ve had two keeshonds and a lab/shepherd mix.  I’ve also been a part-time pet sitter for 10 years and a part-time vet tech for a few years, many years ago.  I know dogs.  And cats.   And iguanas, rats, guinea pigs and hamsters, and . . . sorry – got a little carried away.

Why am I blogging about animals, you wonder?  To get everyone to spread the word on House Bills 2525 and 2532 which deals with animal cruelty laws.  And NO, putting a tux on your pomeranian is NOT animal cruelty – if they like it – which he did.  He wore that thing all night!!

ANYWAY, following is a copy of a canned email response I received:

Thank you for recently contacting me to express your strong support for House Bills 2525 and 2532, which make sweeping changes to the Dog Law and the Animal Cruelty Law to raise the standards for dogs in breeding kennels and prohibit  certain surgical procedures on dogs that are inhumane.

    As you may know, both bills were passed by the House of Representatives on September 17 and were then referred to the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.  The Committee has scheduled a meeting on Tuesday, September 23, at noon, to consider House Bill 2525, which may include additional amendments.

    Please be assured that I am aware of the abuses that occur in dog breeding kennels and the need to update our laws to provide greater enforcement and penalties for cruel and inhumane treatment of dogs in our state and I will be glad to support passage of both proposals when they come before the Senate for a vote.

    Thanks again for taking the time to contact me on these important proposals.

Sincerely,

Rob

Senator Rob Wonderling

State Senator 24th District  

I bring all this up in the wake of the Kutztown a*(#^/!!s who shot 80 dogs when he was ordered to have the dogs examined by a vet.  See the comments - (just loved the comment from ‘Wiser Time’).  And I heard how Oprah made it sound on her show that that’s how we do things in PA.  How embarrassing (and kind of ignorant on her part, don’t ya’ think?)

So please take the time to contact your senators and other politicians and let them know how you feel.  It is their responsibility to vote their constituency, so LET THEM KNOW!  An email takes about 3 minutes of your time, right?   Google their name – or just google PA State Senator and a listing will come up.  Go to their site and you can email them directly (or actually someone who will answer their email for them).  But I do know that they keep track of the emails and the subject matters so I promise it will count.

Do you agree?  Comments?  Let’s discuss . . .

OH!  And Dr. Yvonne Kaye is having a lecture October 15, 22, 29 and November 5 at Livengrin.  Contact me for more details.  Tell everyone!

Nickey Hollenbach

Personal Touch Concierge Service, LLC

www.ptconciergeservice.com

Let’s Welcome Dr. Yvonne Kaye!

This isn’t one of my more “normal” blogs (stop laughing at the normal comment), but I had to talk about Yvonne.  Yvonne is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, having lived a very full and diverse life and kept a sense of humour (as she would spell it) about it all!  She hails from England and was a war orphan, as was my mother.  My mother was a bit older than she during the war, so it’s interesting to hear the differences.  I have grown up hearing the war stories (my mother was from Belgium and so was invaded by the Germans very early on), and have enjoyed them immensely.  Not enjoyed them in an entertainment manner, but enjoyed hearing history from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.  My grandfather was a prisoner of war for almost the entire war, and my mother’s brother was forced to do – uh, let’s just say “interesting” things to help my mother, grandmother and other people during the war. 

So speaking of helping people, Yvonne is the epitome of helping people.  She has been a bereavement specialist, motivational speaker, humorist, author, columnist, businesswoman, spiritual coach, interfaith minister and women’s advocate.  What hasn’t she done!!

If you would like to see this amazing woman in action, she is giving a free lecture on October 1, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. at Livengrin Foundation in their Shanahan Hall, 4833 Hulmeville Road, Bensalem, PA.  (For Livengrin information, call 1-800-245-4746 x310.)  The topic is Women in Focus – Why Rubens is my Favourite Artist – This is No Art Critique!  This lecture is introducing her upcoming four-lecture series which you will not want to miss!

I hope you can carve out time to come spend an evening with Dr. Kaye.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

Emerson said:

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success.”

He really knew what he was talking about, didn’t he?  I was reminded of this Emerson quote from another blogger that I subscribe to – one of the very few I subscribe to – Jonathan Fields.  Check him out if you get a chance.  He has a wonderful style of writing, and in a down-to-earth way, he portrays everything that I feel is “success.”

Speaking of successful, I have a client who I really admire.  He is an environmental engineer by day, and kayaking instructor by (every spare second he has).  He is working and making the money that is required of a business, and also doing what he loves.  And in doing what he loves, he shares that love with other people, giving a lot of people a way to de-stress, stay healthy and learn something new.  He also does a lot of pro bono stuff for non-profit organizations and the like, too.  Isn’t that what we all want to do?  Do the stuff we need to do, but make a dent in the world.  To leave the world a little better . . .  We don’t have a lot of time here – live life to the fullest and be proud of what you do.

Just a little reminder as to what we should be striving for in our lives . . .

The Business Side

To be successful in business, you need a Virtual Assistant (you knew THAT was coming, didn’t you?).   If you intend to do most of the things to which Emerson was referring, you’ll need to have some help getting everything done so you can find the time to become personally successful. 

I know most that most business people use dictation equipment.  But for the ones that don’t, allow me to suggest that you do.  You need not sit down with notes and do formal dictation (lawyers).  Get yourself a hand-held portable or MP3 and dictate your thoughts.  There are hands-free or blue tooth models available that you can just sit in a cradle in your car.  If you’re like me, I think of the most interesting ideas and solutions and things I need to do when I’m driving in the car.  You can’t write them down – safely, that is.  So flip a switch and start dictating your thoughts, ideas, to-do lists – anything your mind wants you to remember.  You get back to your office and:

• plug in your hand-held device to your computer 
• upload the file
• email the file to me
• I type it and return it to you

Presto!  You have your thoughts written down right there in front of you!  Now it’s up to you after that step what you do with that information . . . 

I actually have a client who does just that.  Once he opens the emails and reads through it, he deletes what he doesn’t want, copies and pastes into another email what he wants me to do for him or tickle for him, and then saves the rest for later.  Taking it a step further, I then go into his email once a week and organize the emails into a real to-do list which he double checks that he’s taken care of everything he needed to for the week.

That, my friends, is organization.  And you haven’t killed one tree in doing it!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!  Talk to you soon!