PopRox

Unique OOAK Coin Collector Numismatic Decor Art

2020-02-28T13:41:00.002-05:00

Hand Crafted Custom Collector Art on recycled wood plaques

Originating from the gentle hills of Martinsburg, West Virginia, each custom made and fully unique One Of A Kind (OOAK) decor art piece is hand cut and finished by the slightly arthritic and experienced hands of the old school craftsman JB "Pop" Stran.

The 2018 Trump Dollar is a recent example of the laser etched custom art decor from Pop's OOAK shop. Local poplar boards are stained a light to medium walnut and hand rubbed to blend perfectly with any oak or walnut decor scheme.

Collectors, numismatics and local patriots are going nuts for these unique and fully hand-crafted art pieces for their collections. Feeling left out yet?

The coins are removable if you desire; They are not glued into place or damaged in any way, but it is not suggested as you may damage the display. The coins are cool as penguin poop, and I took extra steps to insure that your collectible coin remains in perfect condition.

Is it wrong that I like to mount some of the favorites from my coin collection to hand crafted wood?
Maybe. Maybe they should just sit in my safe, unseen and unappreciated.
Is it wrong that you want to own and display these beauties in your own space? Maybe.
Maybe you don't deserve to have nice things. Or, maybe you do. Maybe you've earned it.

For example; The 1872 silver clad US Trade Dollar shown below is a beautiful collector coin replicating the 1873 silver dollars minted by the US government to compete with other large silver dollars of the era. Most of these coins were sent to China, who became the primary source for these highly collectible coins.

The 2018 Gold Trump Dollar commemorates the first year of his election and is a feature part of this truly unique Art series exclusively from Pop's shop!

Each hand crafted piece is True OOAK highly collectible art decor using recycled woods and suede leather hangers, available at local friend prices. Each is a highly prized Coin Collector gift item that you simply can not buy anywhere else because they are made one at a time, by hand, only in Pops Shop.

The 2013 Bitcoin is one of our most popular collector pieces among gift buyers looking for the perfect decor item for a serious collector.
There is currently a two week waiting list for this custom item, as well as for the 1967 Krugerrand set, both of which include a laser etched title and hand-rubbed light medium walnut finish that looks great with oak and walnut furnishings.

Custom art from like this is highly prized by smart and discerning collectors because You own the Only One Like It!
Your friends will lose their nut over this, but they simply can't buy it because each piece is One Of A Kind (OOAK art) and it's Yours.

To get your grubby little hands on a finished in-stock collector piece, hit the store link below. When your greedy friends see it, don't tell them where you got it. Seriously; most shops love word of mouth advertising, but these pieces take so long to make by hand, and the coins are getting so hard to get, that your friends will just have to swallow their disappointment. Let 'em eat cake.
No, really. Give your friends some cake. Who doesn't love cake?

Pop's Shopify store is currently carrying samples of finished items that have as yet been unclaimed.
Every OOAK art decor piece shown in the store is handmade and actively in stock and can be shipped immediately. One Of A Kind (OOAK) art is the most highly collectible and valued form of art because there is not another one exactly like it anywhere. You own the Only One!

Drop by Pop's Custom art shop at http://popsgifts.com/ and browse the available fully hand crafted custom decorative art pieces that have been completed, but for various reasons have yet remain unclaimed. Make one yours today!

2020/02/27 JB Stran

*Coin values fluctuate with the market.
Replica and trend coins are worth what a buyer is willing to pay.

Custom Bitcoin Trump Collector Coin Art Vintage Primitive Man Cave Decor

2020-01-26T22:18:00.000-05:00

Hand Crafted Custom Collector Art on recycled wood plaques

Originating from the gentle hills of Martinsburg, West Virginia, each custom and unique decor art piece is hand cut and finished by the loving hands of the old school craftsman JB "Pop" Stran.

The 2018 Trump Dollar coin displayis a recent example of the laser etched custom art decor from Pop's shop. Local poplar boards are stained a light to medium walnut and hand rubbed to blend perfectly with any oak or walnut decor scheme.

Collectors, numismatics and local patriots are going nuts for these unique and fully hand-crafted art pieces for their collections. Feeling left out yet?

True OOAK highly collectible art decor using recycled woods and leather hangers at local friend prices.

Our most popular decor pieces include the new Flip Art wall plaques (shown in an earlier post), the customized *Scrabble tile bedroom signs, and the highly prized Coin Collector plaques.

The 2013 Bitcoin is our most popular collector art among gift buyers looking for the perfect decor item for a serious collector.
There is currently a two week waiting list for this custom set which includes laser etched title and a hand-rubbed medium or dark walnut finish that looks great with walnut furniture.

Custom art from like this is highly prized by smart and discerning collectors because You own the Only One Like It!
Your friends will lose their nut over this, but they simply can't buy it because each piece is One Of A Kind (OOAK art) and it's Yours.

To get your grubby little hands on a finished in-stock collector piece, hit the store link below. When your greedy friends see it, don't tell them where you got it. Seriously; most shops love word of mouth advertising, but these pieces take so long to make by hand, and the coins are getting so hard to get, that your friends will just have to swallow their disappointment. Let 'em eat cake.
No, really. Give your friends some cake. Who doesn't love cake?

Pop's Shopify store is currently carrying samples of finished items that have as yet been unclaimed.
Every OOAK art decor piece shown in the store is handmade and actively in stock and can be shipped immediately. One Of A Kind (OOAK) art is the most highly collectible and valued form of art because there is not another one exactly like it anywhere. You own the Only One!

Drop by Pop's Custom art shop at https://martinsburgphotos.myshopify.com/ and browse the available fully hand crafted custom decorative art pieces that have been ordered and completed, but for various reasons have yet remain unclaimed. Make one yours today!

2020/01/11 JB Stran

*Scrabble is a registered trademark of Hasbro. Our tiles are collected from salvaged game sets.

Your Daughter Will Love This Custom Bedroom art

2020-01-14T01:23:00.000-05:00

Hand Crafted Custom Decor Art on recycled wood plaques

Originating from the gentle hills of Martinsburg, West Virginia, each custom and unique decor art piece is hand cut and finished by the loving hands of the old school craftsman JB "Pop" Stran.

Elephant Lovers is a recent example of the laser etched custom art decor from Pop's shop. Local poplar boards are stained a light walnut that blends perfectly with any oak or walnut decor scheme.

Both images are actually the same piece, and part of a truly unique two-faced Flip Art series exclusively from Pop!

True OOAK art decor using recycled woods and natural leather hangers at local friend prices.

Our most popular decor pieces include the new Flip Art wall plaques (shown above and below), the customized *Scrabble tile bedroom signs, and the highly prized Coin Collector plaques.

The Winnie and Tigger set is our most popular Flip Art among gift buyers looking for the perfect decor item for a little girl's bedroom or playroom.
There is currently a two week waiting list for this custom set which includes laser etched images and a hand-rubbed light or dark walnut finish.

Custom art from similar artists average $75 each but Pop's Flip Art pieces are flying away at less than $25 for Two images!

To get Pop's attention as soon as possible, send an email to Pop57@comcast.net or for an even faster and more personal response you can text him directly with your customization requests to 304.620.9235 any time of day and he will get back to you very soon.

Pop's Shopify store is currently carrying samples of finished items that have as yet been unclaimed.
Every OOAK art decor piece shown in the store is handmade and actively in stock and can be shipped immediately. One Of A Kind (OOAK) art is the most highly collectible and valued form of art because there is not another one exactly like it anywhere. You own the Only One!

Looking for a bit more than bedroom or nursery art?
Look into Pop's OOAK Shop for original and classic Americana art decor for the kitchen, dining room and more. Featuring recovered and restored hand crafted items from farms and lost homes in the Panhandle area.

You Don't Have to Go Home, but you Can't Stay Here: My last trip to Taco Bell.

2020-01-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

Why do fast foods restaurants insist on contaminating my food?

On my way home today, I stopped in a local Taco Bell in Spring Mills for an easy dinner.

Ordering my favorites to go means going inside, because as everyone knows, they screw you at the drive-through so often that going in just makes more sense.

I received my food on a tray, and decided in the moment to sit at a table instead.

So, I just opened the first item when the girl that took my order walked into the dining room with a broom and various cleaning supplies and started sweeping the floor.

Seriously? If you've ever swept a floor with sunlight streaming through the windows then you know the horrendous clouds of dust that are now floating into the air. And what is 80% of dust? Dead skin cells. Body hairs. Mites. Miscellaneous nasties that I definitely don't want in my mouth.

She then follows up by spraying some God-knows-what cleaning spray all over the tables and seats of the booths all around us. Naturally, I packed up my food, asked for a bag and left.

I did order it to go, after all.

Once outside, I realized that that was her plan all along. She doesn't really want anyone to eat in her clean dining room. If you insist, then she will make the experience as unpleasant as possible, and maybe make you sick as a bonus. Bad customer; Take your food and get the hell out.

My primary question is this: Why the hell do these people insist on contaminating my food with that stuff? It's bad enough that I have to breathe it, now you want to force me to eat it too?

The dead skin and body hairs of the last 100 customers are now floating all through the room.

The place was empty when we walked in; Why wasn't the cleaning done then, and why is it only done when we sit down to eat? It's not only gross, but rude as hell.

This disgusting type of Ignorant behavior happens at my favorite Arby's on Queen street as well. We walk into an empty dining room, and two minutes after we sit down to eat someone walks over behind us and starts shaking the dust out of the trash cans and sweeping the floor.

Maybe I'm a bit thick; These girls have been throwing this hint every single time I sit in one of their dining rooms, and I'm just now catching on. We will sell you the food, but don't you dare try to enjoy a meal in here, because the moment you think you're safe at a clean table we are going to spray and shower you in the nastiest crap we can find, starting with the skin and bugs that died on the floor.

Up your nose, in your hair, on your table, and in any exposed food you may be trying to eat.

Who trains these people? Apparently the only thing they know about hygiene is that they have to wear gloves to handle the food, and wash their hands after the bathroom, not that I have a lot of faith in either of those rules being enforced. And in case that isn't enough to worry about...

I ordered clean food. I expected clean food. I hoped while waiting that the kid preparing my food didn't have a cold recently, and had washed his hands thoroughly and put on clean gloves. I further hoped that his balls didn't itch while he was wrapping my food, and that he wipes his boogers on his pants and not on my wrapper.

After all that, I take my clean food to a nearby table and unwrap it only to have someone else immediately begin filling the room with a toxic blend of filth too horrible to imagine.

Point made. Point gotten.

You don't have to go home, but you can't eat here.

J.B.S. 2020/01/11

Employee Disengagement

2019-11-01T05:35:00.001-04:00

Tales from a Toxic Work Environment #2

Based on recent behavior patterns, I'm guessing that one of our newest hires may be on his way out.

It became apparent two weeks ago that he had disconnected from the job; showing little interest in learning or expanding his knowledge base, spending far too much time sitting by the machine oblivious to his surroundings, and just this week he has called out two days in a row.

We only work three days this week, so that's a lot.

If I had to guess, I'd say that he has burned his limited vacation days, and started in on sick days, because he wasn't planning to be around much longer. That's the obvious first step when someone has disengaged and no longer cares about the job, the team, or the company. In my experience the pattern is fairly consistent.

I am further qualified to spot disengagement because in my three years here I have gone from proud to be here, to why am i still here, because I stopped drinking the Kool aid over a year ago. There was an incident prior to that point, and that put me in the frame of mind to notice deeper issues, and that's when the realization occurred to me that I no longer really cared about a culture that doesn't actually care about me.
I had essentially allowed all the joy to be sucked out of my work. That actually hurt, because when I started, I genuinely liked my job for the first time in...forever?

This plant is less than two years old, so being here for three means I am a member of the founder's club. The original group of twenty people, of which I am a member, has been whittled down to about 13 now. Some have quit, some were let go, but that's par for the course at most companies. But for a company with a reputation for higher retention rates, it should be alarming.

I've been on four teams in those three years. My first supervisor became a friend, and then she quit to move home to Chicago. She was my first (and last) career coach. We still share a text on occasion.

My second supervisor was the subject of a prior post, Tales #1, and in the six months that we worked together he managed to say exactly 9 words to me. Once. I was tolerated, and he didn't hide it well.

My third team was my favorite because my supervisor was an intelligent, down-to-earth ex-cop who actually looked me in the eye and spoke to me like a human. He was respectful, fair, and honest and I respected the hell out of him for it.

But, I moved once again to a newer line so that my prior line experience could make their startup easier. I get it, but it's not ideal. And like I said, I disengaged a long time ago so at this point i'm just showing up, and those rare positive moments are the only things keeping me sane about it.

One of the issues that led to this state of mind is all the attention being placed on the glass ceiling here. Being a new plant, there is a lot of room for overhead growth. Both middle and upper management slots waiting to be filled, lots of shuffling going on, and this quickly became a full-time preoccupation for every manager at every level.

So much so, that it became clear to us on the floor that we were basically alone here. Our support was non existent because it was off brown-nosing and training for the next promotion.

You couldn't get anyone's actual attention because not one of our supervisors were engaged themselves; none wanted the job they had, but were instead sniffing for the next level job they wanted. They simply needed you to make them look good so they could leave you in their wake.

That went on heavily for about a year, though it has started to slow a bit by now.

Engagement is still an issue however, so obviously the problem runs a bit deeper than just a group of non-committed managers. Maybe it's a general feeling that the work doesn't really matter. That impression is inevitable when everyone is focused on the career ladder.

Maybe it's a general feeling that you don't really matter. Certain managers have a way of conveying that message regularly, despite the best intentions of upper management or policy.

Maybe it has to do with being treated like idiotic children instead of like thinking, rational adults.

For example, management has recently started littering the plant with these moron signs, like the one at each trash hopper that says, " This is the cardboard hopper. Only put cardboard into the cardboard hopper". It has pictures. Of cardboard. In the cardboard hopper. In case you're really stupid.

The walls of every hallway we use are plastered with childish posters depicting aspects of the safety guidelines. From outside, the building is a work of art. The main lobby is tastefully appointed with integral works of art. But when we walk the halls, and it looks exactly like an elementary school. It's quite embarrassing, TBH. They don't rotate or change, so you quickly stop seeing them, but they do increase on occasion. Maybe they're breeding.

In any event, the filthy undercurrent of discontent that began years ago before the plant was even built has never been addressed, and has therefore grown into an underground movement. Lots of grumbling going on; Lots of unhappy people planning an exit strategy while simultaneously giving this plant a black eye in the form of an employee retention rate that rivals the local 7-11.

The Dehumanizing Treatment of Employees

2019-10-30T01:19:00.000-04:00

Tales from a Toxic Work Environment #1

Now that we have reached the so-called Age of Enlightenment, wherein socially conscious managers would never dream of forcing arcane rules or personal whims on their underlings, it is considered by most people to be at the very least morally wrong for a supervisor to intentionally create a hostile work environment for personal or emotional pleasure.

This is exactly the type of behavior I have witnessed on multiple occasions at the P&G Tabler Station plant however, regardless of plant, company or corporate policies.

Because to be blunt; Policies don't mean squat in the day-to-day, minute-by-minute operations of a manufacturing plant when people with little to no proper management training are making the little decisions that will affect the lives of their team members.

In one recent example, a low-level (bottom rung) manager of only three team members with a reputation for constant sexual harassment of female employees set his sights on a newly hired young lady on his team.

He asked her out repeatedly, and she was placed in the awkward position of needing to explain that she was not only engaged but also not really interested in him, while at the same time preserving his fragile ego so that her new career would not be jeopardized by making an enemy of her new boss.

Being a friend of a friend, I was allowed to follow this drama through first hand sharing and second-hand followups. She was a sweet kid, and I have a grandfather vibe, so we talked on occasion.

Because she was an adult, I didn't presume to stick my two cents into another adult's story.

I never notified HR or anyone who maybe could help her because I tend my own garden.

Anyway, she seemed to be taking it fairly well in the early stages, and showed a solid sense of humor about the whole thing in general. That is until a few weeks ago when she decided that he had gone too far.

Because he was the first approval for requested vacation days, she had submitted a request to take her birthday off so she could spend it with her fiance.

Her request for the day off was denied, despite it being a valid request in every sense. She was disappointed but mature about it, until her boss took that same day off himself. She was convinced that he was exhibiting a childishly spiteful abuse of power, and rubbing her nose in it to boot.
{if she was nicer to him, he might be nicer to her...}

She then requested a transfer to another line, any line, in the hope of starting fresh with a fair manager. This request too was denied. Her boss was also an excellent underling, and held in fine regard by all of his supervisors (middle management) because he tells them what they want to hear and appears eager to learn.

In my experience, this usually means an ambitious and hungry jackal has his eye on his next promotion, but that's not my problem. The point is, he had their collective ear and if he wanted autonomous control over a team member it was a simple matter of placating his own bosses with some well crafted bullshit.

So, feeling trapped with a childish and vindictive drama queen of a boss, this young girl with aspirations of a career with Proctor and Gamble simply quit her new job to seek greener and less painful pastures.

Her friends suggested an exit interview, so that at the very least someone from HR would listen to her reasons for leaving, even if she chose not to pursue proper recourse. I don't know if that meeting ever happened; We rotate shifts regularly, so I came in one day and she was just gone.

It's a shame that stories like hers rarely get told, and maybe that's why I bothered to write it out here for you to peruse. Maybe her life is much better now. Maybe she is reading this with you and smiling at the wasted tears she allowed some saddle-sniffer to extract from her.

Maybe you or a friend are in a similar situation, and shedding a few tears of your own, and hoping for encouragement. The best advice I can offer is to speak up and speak out.

Don't allow dark intentions to remain in the dark.

Drop by the HR office, or just drop an email asking for some advice on how best to correct any misunderstandings you may have with your boss.

Shedding some light on small miscommunications or outright mistreatment has a wonderful way of bringing the sun out again.

And you deserve a bit more sunshine in your life, don't you?

Confusing Selection With Results

2019-10-23T04:10:00.001-04:00

The Swimmer's Body Illusion

A common delusion that critical thinkers must be aware of involves mistaking fate, natural gifts, and logical selection with actual tested results.

Known by many as the "Swimmer's body illusion", which refers to the popular task of choosing a target body profile as your weight loss goal.

Long and lean, professional swimmers possess the most coveted body style according to poll data. The problem that eventually unfolds is that swimmers don't look like that because they swim; Swimmers swim because they look like that.

They didn't so much choose the sport as the sport chose them. They had the aerodynamic profile that made becoming a professional swimmer likely, and the balance between proper training, natural talent, and nature made it happen.

These facts escape the average person looking to improve their profile however, and every year gym and YMCA memberships explode with folks seeking the impossible goal of a swimmer's body.

A similar example is the beauty magazine model.

She doesn't have perfect almond eyes and high cheekbones because she uses the makeup in the ad, but instead she is in the makeup ad because she possesses these features.

She was selected to become the face of that makeup company based on her natural talents, and the mildly deceptive ads simply allow fragile young women to assume that the makeup alone is the model's only secret.

Once you accustom yourself to deciphering selection and choice from results of actual testing and experimentation, your critical mind will begin rooting out lots more examples as your natural cynicism creates a new category under the fraud heading.

JB PopRox Stran

Introducing the Universal Truth Religion

2017-04-03T22:36:00.002-04:00

Introducing the Church of Universal Truth, the religion of the Introvert

The below document comprises the initial charter of a new religion, which shall henceforth be known as Universal Truth.

Founder and Minister:

Reverend J.B. Stran

Focus

The foundation of the Universal Truth religion is based on the individual’s right to worship in solitude, free of social pressure and judgement.
Unlike nearly all organized religions, the Universal Truth religion welcomes and caters to the Introvert, primary among these,
the Prisoner; the Outcast; the Homeless. Your humble founder and spiritual leader has been all three of these.

The Universal Truth that you seek is this:

Wherever you are; whoever you are, so there is God.

The God that you seek has never written any books.
The God that you seek neither recognizes nor requires your money.
The God that you seek does not hold nor require any earthly real estate.
The God that you seek does not employ fear tactics for the purpose of extorting goodness from you.

The God that you seek requires only that reach your full potential, both as an individual spirit and as a connection point for the billions of other individual seekers.

Dogma

Doctrine

The Right of quiet reflection

The right of the worshiper to enjoy the quiet privacy of solo worship shall not be infringed upon.

The Right to refuse the Kool-Aid

The right of the individual to refuse to participate in any activities perceived as cult behaviors shall not be infringed upon.

The Right of Personal Temple

The right of the individual to refuse any ingestion, injection or intrusion of body shall not be infringed upon.

The Right to Personal privacy

The worshipper shall retain the right to refuse participation in any public exercise deemed uncomfortable to the worshipper.

Liquid Dogma

The founders and leaders of the Universal Truth religion reserve the right to adapt and grow these doctrines.

Rituals

Morning routines are sacred and shall not be altered or interfered with.
Proper dress for worship shall remain in tune with personal comfort.
Ministers are available for advice, but are not required for worship services.
Worship in group settings of 6 members or less are acceptable within the comfort realms of the individual worshipper.
Tithing shall not be required. Voluntary Donations will be accepted by the minister directly .

Leader roles and responsibilities

The primary leader shall be the minister. The primary role of the minister is to provide support to the individual worshipper.

Additional leaders may be appointed by the minister or by majority vote of the board.

It's That Fadd Map Time Again Ladies: Fat and Delusional Dreamers Making Plans

2016-12-31T14:51:00.002-05:00

"Beauty Is In The Eye of the Beholder"

We are once again rounding that bend, and readying ourselves for the same old resolutions that seem to top the personal priority lists of millions around us: Get in better shape; Eat healthier; Become a better version of me.
Good. Most folks will benefit from a few small changes in habit. Just be sure you're going into this new plan for the right reasons.

Feeling better, having more energy, and out-living your goldfish are all great ideas.

Today's rant is focused more on the overly critical tendencies that create a pattern of self-destruction in far too many otherwise happy folks, women in particular.

With New Year's day just 24 hours away, maybe what we really need to focus on is less focus, waddyathink?

Every January, many of us join the masses who have fallen prey to that commercialized version of who and what we are expected to become, while completely ignoring the fact that these carefully crafted systems of self-doubt and body-shaming by comparison are based in the very same premise as the classic Madison Avenue concept of "Keeping up with the Joneses" that was sold to our parents since the sixties: Greed.

Honestly: It is ALWAYS about profits. Every last stigma and doubt system that is carried over from each generation to torture and traumatize girls (and boys), whose only crime was being born, is and always has been about money. Nothing more. Specifically, it's about taking yours.

Uniqueness is systematically crushed by that profit machine starting in grade school, when your inherent need to socialize is used as a weapon against you.

Fashion, pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies that are built on this evil groundwork rely solely on their ability to convince you that everyone is flawed and sub-par at birth, but you can have access to the 'magic pill' that will make you acceptable...for a reasonable price, of course.

This form of social brainwashing for profit isn't new, and frankly I think we as a species should have evolved beyond this sheeple stage by now; the one that feeds our vulnerable children to this system of emotional torture for profits.

Sadly, many adults are too deeply submerged into this "I'm not quite good enough" mentality to even realize just how shallow their lives have become, and they pass this social guilt on to their children.

The makeup and drug companies aren't alone here; Enter the medical profession.

Botox, plastic surgery, and various body shaping procedures are also part of this conspiracy of personal shaming and body criticism for profits, and people are literally dying to impress their equally shallow friends.

Women are tricked into injecting toxic poisons into their faces, boobs and butts to feel competitive with Photoshopped models who are just as flawed as the rest of us.

The big difference between them and you? They lie. It's their job to lie to you, and it's also very profitable. The model is lying. The photographer is lying. Because the sponsor company doesn't profit from truth.

Ready for a little truth? Start with this: I Love You. We Love You. Just the way you are, as nature intended, as your God intended you to be.

You are not supposed to look like your neighbor, or a billboard model, or the lingerie model on the television. Why would you want to? She doesn't even look like that.

Girls:
Your mom wasn't lying: You are perfect just the way you are. Dad may have been a bit biased, but he was still telling the truth: You really are beautiful, just the way you are.

You are the only one who has a hard time seeing it because you are taught to be hyper critical of every flaw.

This is a result of the Big Lie we're talking about here today.

Your minor flaws make you unique. Your freckles are gorgeous. That dimple is the envy of a hundred people that you've passed. Your hair is your crown. Polish it, make it shine. Or don't. It's who you are. Make it yours and be proud of it.

That whole idea that this life is one big beauty competition in which you are forced to participate is a sack of commercial lies being perpetrated by the shallow and brainwashed herd, and you can be one of the lucky few who have the ability to see through the greed curtain.

One of the most beautiful traits that a woman can possess is a self confidence that demands respect.

The world is your mirror, and what you put out is exactly what comes back to you.

Be beautiful; Believe in your beauty and it will be so, because others will respond to your belief in the same manner. The secret key just went by you in that last sentence: You must Believe it.

Faking it til you make it may work for some, but for the rest of us this can be a brutally cruel world that has a knack for spotting a weakness in the facade.

You must really know beyond any doubt, that your beauty was by design and any adjustments are a waste of time because they detract from your intended purpose.

Your true beauty is not on the skin, and it is not something that disappears in the dark.

Your beauty is your strength. Your beauty is your love. Your beauty is a lingering image (feeling) that every person who meets and knows you will carry long after the first impressions have faded.

Uniqueness is a primary feature of your beauty. Something that makes you just you, and unlike anyone else. Maybe that unique gift is your art; your voice; your generosity; your empathy, or maybe you are still finding yourself and a unique gift hasn't shown itself.

For many women, their uniqueness turns out to be their destiny to create the most wonderful children the world has ever seen. This is a fine and noble life goal that many parents are honored to become.

The best version of a parent my family has ever seen. Nothing wrong with that at all; It completely dismisses the personal and social paranoias altogether, and focuses on a higher calling. Again: A noble quest indeed.

If there is a point to this yet-another New Years day rant, then it is this:

Instead of planning another year of wasted money and grueling workout schedules, just to further torture yourself by obsessing over mediocre results that weren't part of your destiny anyway, how about you (we) simply focus on Karma building and putting our egos on a diet?

There are a lot of simple changes you can make to feel healthier, and to have more energy.

The first one that I recommend is to Never Buy Diet Coke again. Ever.

The aspartame is a toxic sugar substitute that is actually making you fatter! They have removed it from their recipe to dodge the complaints from consumers, only to put it right back in under a new name.

Second; Drink a lot more water. Hydration is more than healthy; it's essential to everything else you want to do and be. Routinely flushing your kidneys and bladder will give you that healthy glow and allow your whole body to function better and handle exercise better.

That brings me to the third simple change:

Get vertical.

Sitting is killing more Americans than traffic accidents and drugs combined. Office jobs, computer time, and cable's 400 channels comprise the fat machine that clogs arteries and stops hearts prematurely.

Take a walk. Discover that little museum you've been meaning to take a peek at. Throw your sweats on and hike the bike path down the road. Thirty minutes is a good place to start.

Once this new habit becomes established (the average adult need s to repeat a new habit seven times before it registers) you will realize that you really like the way it feels. Let it progress on it's own schedule, and avoid listening too closely to bragging friends who claim they are running 75 miles today. Misery loves company.

Set your own starting point, and allow it to progress naturally. If at all. The point is to simply do something that makes you happy. An hour of fresh air and gentle exercise is more than enough for starters.

Summary: Improve yourself if you feel the need, but do it for you. Nothing else matters.

You want to feel better; You want to see your grandchildren grow up; You want to see your feet again.

Be Happy. Be Happier. Be Beautiful.

JBS.

§ Copyright HealthySelfCures.com 2016 JB Stran

Post Christmas Melancholy

2016-12-26T12:17:00.000-05:00

First and foremost; We are good people, my wife and I.
Parents to six, and Grandparents to over 20 happy (and mildly spoiled) children, and Christmas for us is truly a celebration of love and generosity surrounded by family.
I freely admit that my wife of thirty three years deserves this happiness more than do I; She has nowhere near the level of childhood and adult sins to atone for.
I also deal with a deeply buried case of PTSD that develops zombie tendencies in the Winter months, peaking ( or in terms of the depression that follows it like a shadow, bottoming out) right around Christmas.
This puts me in that small group of freaks who genuinely dread the holiday, and must work particularly hard to find a spark or a light to focus on in order to crawl over that hump one more year.

Sorry 'bout that. You can see now why I buried it.
Obviously, the grandchildren take turns representing that light at the end of the tunnel. Beautifully optimistic, eager little minds chomping at life's bit to start making a happy life as wild birds whose cage was just flung open. Their graceless simplicity is contagious, you know? Play is Everything, and Everything is Play.
If that doesn't make you fall in love with life all over again, check your pulse.

Anyway; that's what pulls me through the annual holiday swamp, and by the 26th it's already starting to get better.
For me, that is. Remember that wife who deserves to happy?
Well, she swings to an alternate rhythm, and we pass each other going in opposite directions about this time.

Christmas is for her a joyous celebration of family and love. Money or no, she is tickled just to be near the little ones at Christmas. Simple pleasures, and all that jazz.
Then, she goes back to work.
Now, hating your job is quite normal for many blue collar folks, but how about being clinically depressed for the entire week after Christmas? That's not normal.
No; She's not a NICU nurse, or a dialysis attendant. She works at a major retailer.
The biggest one; the one people love to hate and half the country can't seem to live without.

Starting the day after Christmas, she is the person at this retailer who has to process the returns. Unwanted gifts, wrong sized sweaters, and all the usual post-Christmas reasons to stand in line at the returns counter.

Then there's the reason for her week-long depression; The welfare queens bringing in their children's toys and gifts to flip them for cash. Many with those same wailing, confused and emotionally tortured children in tow.
One after another, all day long, waddling along in slippers and PJs, flopping freshly-opened toys that just last week were delivered by Toys For Tots onto the counter and demanding cash for toys they didn't earn, while the broken-hearted toddler cries for a reason why Santa won't let her keep her new toy.
All the while, a sweet and kindly grandmother stands behind that same counter hard-swallowing the impulse to hop over and deliver the ass-kicking of a lifetime. With her nearly forgotten Baltimore street corner roots, and the fact that the liberal in front of her apparently lives on cheese curls and Pepsi, it wouldn't take that much effort.

But, what would be the point? You can't fix stupid.
And some folks couldn't learn new tricks no matter how hard you tried.
Sure, she could offer to pay for the toy. Seems simple, right? Nope. You would just delay the inevitable, and that sorry excuse for a human mother would be back the next day, in the same line, with the same crying child being tortured all over again. So you just stand there and deal with it, right?
After spending 24 hours bringing smiles and joy to the children in your own family, you just watch the cruelest parade of child torture go by; and even assist them when you can. Because that crying child isn't just looking at mommy for answers; she is also looking at you for any help you can offer. It's enough to tear the very heart from your body. Over, and over, and over, and over...

You starting to see the source of the melancholy?

Thankfully, a few smart folks (my wife being one of them) have put their heads together in an effort to beat this scam and it's heartless perpetrators at the source.
They are asking charities and churches who provide toys and gifts to needy children at Christmas to black-out or otherwise disable the barcode labels on the toys and it's packaging. It's illegal to remove the tags, but a little permanent marker will do the trick. In time, maybe the laws covering charities can be adjusted to allow the removal of all barcodes from the gifts without penalty, thus guaranteeing a much happier Christmas for countless children.

I'm sure this is not just a local problem. Christmas happens to fall in the third week of the month when folks on assistance also happen to be broke, and frankly I can't comprehend any charity not having the forethought to see this coming. To my way of thinking, that makes them just as liable as the human garbage standing in line ignoring her child's pain.
It's time to take responsibility for the whole picture and stop cherry-picking the aspects they choose to focus on. It's time to beat the scammers at their own game.

How about you? Any ideas to help beat this issue?

Thanks for bearing with this rant, and I wish you a wonderful New Year.

JB.

Traditional Native Onion Magic

2016-07-11T13:54:00.001-04:00

http://livingtraditionally.com/the-magic-onion-things-you-didnt-know-onions-could-do/

Fathers Day Draws First Blood: Remington Beard Trimmer

2016-06-12T15:32:00.001-04:00

No doubt you have seen a few knock down, drag out, all around hellish Father's Days come and go. We all have.

Momma wants to shove your nose in a Happy Happy We Love YOU! Celebration fiasco, and the kids are doing everything they can think of to dodge this social embarrassment.

Truth is; An unobstructed view of the game, a bag of pretzels and a fresh beer now & then are about all you need to be perfectly content with your 'Special" day...but Mom won't have any of that nonsense.

You're gonna dress spiffy and go to her favorite eatery, and you can bet your wingtips it won't be Buffalo Wild Wings. Or any sports bar, for that matter.
Been there, brother. I (we) sympathise.

That however is not the reason for this post. This one is loosely classified as a rant I suppose, based on last year's FD gift, and I thought I would remind some givers on Dad's Day that not every gadget is what it seems.

I am referring to a Remington beard trimmer that works just fine, although it appears to have developed a taste for human blood.
At first it was a small nick here or there, but now that a year has passed it has acquired an evil thirst for more, which I fear may someday spell my downfall.

I have started keeping it in a cage at night so my children can sleep without being attacked by this deceptively tiny device and it's vampirish cravings.

This harmless looking device is the Remington rechargable trimmer, model PG360.

That's code for Pretty Good, retail $36.

T his one came with a nice stand and a few handy attachments, and has been serving my needs well...until I trim around the mouth area. This is of course one of it's primary uses; Trimming the beard and mustache, which it does just fine, until it senses weakness. Then it strikes. It's tiny steel fangs sinking into my flesh, seeking the sweet nectar that flows just below the surface.

Always the same place, always the same little nicks at the corners of my mouth. Irritating little nicks that sting like a papercut, and take a bit too long to heal because I open them every day when I yawn.
Naturally, it's not lack of sleep making me yawn of course, but the little known but much feared Creeping Curse of the Stubble Clipper. Having tasted my precious juices, it has no doubt injected me with it's fiendishly hypnotic gadget serum, born in the pits of Remingtonia, or wherever these nasty little biters come from.

Seriously though: Is it just me?

In any case, this is a heads up to the Dads, Moms, and kids who will be last-minute scrambling for a nice, fairly cheap (about $25) gift this coming FD weekend: Remington beard trimmers may become hostile and develop a taste for human blood.
Caveat Emptor

> JB.

HealThySelfCures.com: Care and Feeding Of Your Zombie

2015-09-05T08:44:00.001-04:00

HealThySelfCures.com: Care and Feeding Of Your Zombie

Handy Hacks part 3: Summer Edition

2015-06-25T12:55:00.001-04:00

Handy Hacks part 3

We all like to learn a new trick that will make our lives easier, save us money, and even impress friends and family in the process.

Here are a few of my favorites (again):

* Remove Crayons from Walls with WD40:

Use the lubricant and a cloth to remove stubborn crayon marks from the walls just by spraying the wall and wiping with a cloth.

* Keep Ants and Slugs Out of the House with Chalk?

Ants and Slugs Won’t Touch Chalk. So, simply draw a line in front of your doorway where you are having problems with these pesky critters and they won’t cross it, meaning they won’t be able to get into your house.

* That reminds me: Chapstick will stop the bleeding if you nick yourself shaving.

- assuming of course that a few of you still enjoy an old-school shave as I do.

**and That reminds me: Olive oil is an excellent replacement for shaving cream! Slick and smooth enough to ward off nicks, it also moisturizes the skin as you shave.

* Vinegar: Kills Weeds and Helps Flowers Grow

Vinegar is a magic wonder when it comes to gardening. It not only kills weeds but they help flowers grow as well. Douse vinegar all around your garden to prevent weeds from popping up and to help your flowers to grow healthy and strong. A spray bottle with the tip opened to a jet works fine.

* Remove A Bumper Sticker with Mayonnaise?

Spread mayonnaise on the bumper sticker and let sit for at least thirty minutes. Then, rub the sticker off with a towel, leaving a clean bumper!

* Clean BBQ Grill with Baking Soda:

Mix a cup of baking soda with half a cup water to make a paste. Dip your brush into the paste and scrub the grill. The caked on pieces and black residue will come off much quicker and using baking soda is much safer and cheaper than using cleaning chemicals.

* That reminds me: Clean your grill with an Onion:

Close and warm that dirty grill for 10 minute. Slice a fresh onion in half and rub the cut face of onion back and forth on the grilling surface until the juices have loosened all that stuck-on crud. Hit it with your grill brush and repeat if necessary. Not only will the onion make cleaning much easier, but your next round of steaks will have an awesome hint of extra flavor!

...and, One to impress the ladies:

* Freeze Candles to Make Them Last Longer:

Put candles in the freezer for at least 2 hours before using. Once you burn them, the wax will melt at a much slower pace, making them last much longer!

J.B. Stran

2015 JB "Pop" Stran All Copyrights apply. No reprint without full link intact.

Lao-tzu, The Way Of The Tao: Manage With Care

2015-04-24T15:46:00.000-04:00

"Rule a large country as you would cook a small fish"

- Lao-tzu, The Way of the Tao

Although very little is known about Lao-tzu, the teachings found in The Way of the Tao have become the foundation of a way of life for twenty million people today.

The name Lao-tzu itself is more a title that literally means "old master" so it could simply be a name, similar to Homer or Preacher in Ecclesiastes, labeling someone who has written a famous or ancient work.

There is even doubt that Lao-tzu actually wrote The Way of the Tao, or any other one person for that matter. Despite this mystery, the work and it's famous quote stated above are attributed to Lao-tzu, and the followers of the religion that grew from it don't seem to mind.

The title statement has been misused a thousand times by speakers who simply wanted to appear worldly and educated to his audience, or maybe even to impress a girl by looking like a deep thinker who is well-read.

Many of the lessons in The Way of the Tao are open to personal interpretation, and I will simply offer my own as it appears to pertain to the management of a workforce.

With it's terseness and trace of humor, this famous line looks to advise political moderation and the modesty of wisdom. The wise governor governs least and interferes least.

As opposed to the dangerously broad strokes common to the risk-takers, a bit more tact and diplomacy is called for in today's work environment.

2015 The Leader Coach - JB Stran

Handy Hacks For Your Smarter, Simpler Life

2015-04-07T19:20:00.003-04:00

A Few Simple Life Hack Secrets That Make You Look and Feel Smarter

We all love learning a new trick, especially when it's something that can save us time or money.
Here's a few of my favorites:

> Buff a CD/DVD or Clear a Hazy Headlight with Toothpaste:
Apply toothpaste to a cotton ball and wipe the disc. Wash with water afterwards and you’ve got a brand new disc!
Dab plain white toothpaste on the plastic headlight shell and polish with a lightly dampened cotton rag. Work it around real good. Wipe clean with a wet towel and your headlight is clear again!

Buff Dings out of Wood Furniture with a Walnut:
Get rid of unsightly scratches and dings on wood furniture by rubbing a walnut on the areas. The blemishes will vanish quickly and your furniture and pocket book will be saved.

Remove Permanent Marker with Rubbing Alcohol:
Dab the surface that has the permanent marker on it with a cloth or cotton ball covered in rubbing alcohol to make it disappear quickly.

Neat, Huh?

More to follow...

§ Copyright HealthySelfCures.com J.B. Stran

The Intentional Stress Secret aka: The WYGDA Factor

2015-04-04T00:18:00.002-04:00

The Secret Reason for Fabricated Stress in Your Team: The WYGDA factor

The Problem Child. The Instigator. Nearly every team has one, and far too many managers have gone head-to-head with at least one at some point in his career.
This employee seems to create conflict wherever he or she goes. Some actually appear to enjoy the dramas that are left in their wake. Whether your problem child is overtly hostile, attention seeking, or simply basking in the spotlight of infamy, the resulting stresses are all the same for you and your team.

As a manager in Baltimore many years ago, this type of employee was more than just a minor nuisance, and on some teams they actually outnumbered the more mature workers who showed up every day to give a fair effort without rocking the boat. This type of imbalance can have a devastating effect on overall production, even if only because the fabricated dissention is contagious.
These boat rockers could easily tie up the majority of your day with headache-inducing conflicts and needless personal dramas, and why not? You are going to pay them either way, and by forcing the WYGDA factor they are in fact being paid to complain, to waste your time, and to hold up production.
They go home happy every day, while you and your team fall further behind schedule.

So, What You Gonna Do About it?

This is a game of dares, first and foremost. Falling under the heading of the Get Over Game, the long term goal is to take effective control away from management and put it in the hands of a small group of bullies who will keep you dancing on your strings like a puppet.

This is not nearly as far-fetched, nor as tough, as you may think. You will automatically deny being that easy to manipulate, and it's just that type of arrogance that the players will expect and use to gain control.

The short-term goals are almost meaningless when viewed individually: Create a new complaint each day; Recruit more players to each create a new daily complaint; Divide lower management; Feed the local rumor mill negative stories that undermine the managers; Stall production at every opportunity; Bully any member who refuses to play along; and last but surely not least, Push and keep the tension levels to a breaking point.

To the uninitiated, it is rather illuminating to discover how many vulnerabilities are created by a passively trusting management team.

That Chain of Command that you have so much respect for doesn't even exist in the Get Over game. Prepare to have your back scarred by a dozen knives. The bully will go straight to the top with petty, and sometimes even fabricated, complaints about you and your performance.

What You Gonna Do About it? Nothing. There's nothing you can do directly, and she knows it.

There's nothing easy about being bullied at any point in your life, but it can be particularly frustrating when the bully is your employee. You offer respect on the daily, and in many cases you even care on a personal level, but there's always that one person who looks at you like you just asked for a kidney; or the one who makes you feel like you need a bath after they talk to you.

So, What You Gonna Do About it?

First: Clear The Air.

The WYGDA bully will vary his tactical approach to suit the environment, so the ammo of choice may differ, but the bully's primary weapon is always the same: Threats. Lots of empty threats.

She will threaten to call her attorney if you don't comply. He will threaten to call the NAACP if you don't give in. She will threaten to form a union if you refuse to promote her. He will go over your head repeatedly, thus keeping you under pressure by the trickle-down effect.

Call the Bluff. The best way to deal with this smokescreen is to lay all the cards out on the table.

Hand her the phone from your desk, and offer to dial the number. Take back control of your position and at the same time you take the wind out of her sails.

Bullying a manager works because he/she feels that they hold an ace up the sleeve. They know a trick, or a friend is teaching them about something that worked in the past. There is a bit of truth in every rumor, and these stories are no different.

The key is to become fiercely proactive at the first signs of a power struggle, and cover your legal bases.

Notify your legal department of the possibility that a standoff may be imminent, and begin the paper trail with your first meeting. Witness accounts are golden, and if your meeting witness is also from HR or legal, you can consider your posterior adequately covered.

Sadly enough, WYGDA bullying does work to a degree, and I have watched a few Baltimore companies become completely devoured by hired bullies to the point of eventual collapse.

In the one that haunts me to this day, it was myself who had hired the ringleader. By the time the mistake was realized by the owners, he had already caused enough damage to create the snowball effect that would bring the company down.
Twice I tried to fire him, because he was costing us customers directly, but he cried (and lied) to the owner and was re-hired, effectively placing himself on the "protected list" which meant even the slightest hint of future negativity from me could legally be construed as harassment...and I had to watch with my hands tied as he destroyed everything that we had built.
We (the owner that I met with weekly and myself) knew that he was a DuKE, but we arrogantly believed that we could manage this small quirk. He wasn't the only one, after all.
A DuKE is someone experiencing the Dunning-Kruger Effect, and this young man was the living definition of someone living with DKE syndrome.
In this case, he was thoroughly convinced that he was a natural genius (because mom said so..?) who should be calling all the shots, and that we should essentially hand the company over to him.
In truth, he had the people skills of a porcupine, and the business sense of grade school bully.
I will try to expand on the topic of DuKEs in a future post, as it is a very interesting topic.

In any event, you can take my word for this: The guilt that comes from installing a cancer into your work family, one that forces the people you love and respect to suffer, is not something that you can shake off easily. I've had to live with this every day since.
So take the lead right from the start, thus making positive changes in your future.
Every manager enjoys the belief that he is no pushover, and when an employee begins to push you have the opportunity to prove your character to everyone involved.

2015 The Leader Coach § JB Stran

Players and Spectators: The Speedbump Secret

2015-03-20T18:31:00.001-04:00

Players vs Spectators: Your Team Is Comprised of Both

The Productivity Factor:

The Player-versus-Spectator (PvS) scenario occurs when your team contains one or more people who are hindering the true potential of the team and your carefully designed process.

Despite your best efforts to implement an efficient and streamlined process with a fair workload balance, by which the team's goals can be met, your final results will always be tainted by the PvS factor.
Most managers are rarely, if ever, aware that it even exists to mar the outcome.

Incidental Spectators:

While each member of the team is enjoying fair compensation for their collective skills and potential ROI, it often happens that a few will become more spectator than player, who will almost immediately become a speedbump on the path to the team's goals.
This gradual reversion from active participant to overseer can be the result of recent disappointments, a missed opportunity at work, or experimentation on a low-energy day that was allowed to go unchecked. In the case of the newly-hired, they may be simply allowing their true nature to show, now that the honeymoon is over.

Because humans are creatures of habit, an otherwise active team member who experiments with the spectator status is prone to repeat this behaviour, unaware that they have become a speedbump that the team must navigate every time a new project includes the spectator.
Due to some basic primal programming, spectator status is also contagious.

Spectator traits will manifest in a few ways, and the most common types being as follows:

> The Gab.
The gabber is easy to spot. Common signs include standing around talking junk when everyone else is working; walking away from the project at random times to find a conversation, and similar ways to show the team that they aren't really tuned in.

> The Child.

Being no one's favorite, the child simply refuses to cooperate, and you can't make her. You will pay her in full for her time despite your unmet expectations, and there is nothing you can do about it.

* The child is a new manager's nightmare, but a seasoned leader will quickly recognize the potential for a complete attitude make-over. The child will either mature, or make way for her adult replacement.

> The Boss.

Self-appointed managers tend to set themselves apart from the group at the start of a project, having decided beforehand that they will not be contributing to the hands-on portion of the work. Whether lacking in ideas or manual skills, he/she prefers to hang around at the edges and critique the others.

Bosses tend to be a bit more annoying to the team than other forms of spectator, if only for the constant distractions from the job at hand.

The Enablers:

Your ground-level managers will almost immediately notice that the team is dealing with a member who prefers to watch, and in some cases even refuses to actively participate in current projects.
The hands-on type of manager will make a weak attempt to advise the spectator that participating from a distance isn't really considered participation at all, and then move on to more pressing team matters.
This type of enabling won't serve the team's needs, and only feeds the spectator's position as an outsider.

"They only whip the horse that wants to work"

Current people management skills have been tainted by the politically correct and the liberalistic trends that make many managers feel that their hands are tied if an employee displays a standoffish attitude toward team goals, but the truth of the matter is just the opposite.
While it is considerably easier to hire than to fire, in the case of an employee who has chosen to take a spectator position while receiving player pay, you are in effect dealing with a refusal to work, which is a clear violation of both company policy and the employment agreement he/she signed on the date of hire.
This is a key point to maintain in the case of the employee who feels that they are carrying "an ace up the sleeve" in the form of race, gender, sexual orientation, or any other personal status that federal labor laws have deemed as protected from discrimination. This feeling of entitlement is a common misinterpretation of the laws that were designed to protect from abuses, rather than become a weapon that causes your company to lose valuable time and resources.

Who Really Runs This Show?

Trust me: Many of your team members are asking this very question every time a project is hindered from the onset because they were saddled with a spectator who is clearly operating under a personal set of rules, to the detriment of the team's progress.

The team is counting on you to defend their investment of time and effort in the project, by either converting the spectator back into a player, or at the very least, to take the spectator off of the field by assigning her to something less demanding.

“We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.”
― Will Rogers

Obviously you will never be able to convert every weak link into a star performer, but this piece isn't about every weak link. This is about the simple difference between Can't and Won't because the spectator status is a personal choice, and like any other choice can be un-chosen.

Problematic employees in other areas of the job who also display spectator habits can be easily considered to be new volunteers for your disciplinary paper-trail system of attitude adjustment.
True spectators who have dug in their heels will not respond to verbal berating or empty threats, since they have made it clear with their behaviour that they won't be pushed.

Mutual respect among your employees is both vital and productive, and it is with this in mind that the spectator requires a refresher in the importance of a balanced workload for each team member.
Anything less is disrespectful to her peers, and in the extreme can be construed by some team members as a form of bullying that has been endorsed by the management.
This latter is a highly undesirable situation that starts with a breakdown of communications, which leads to a decline in production stats, and in all likelihood ends with unnecessary tensions over legal liabilities.

In the interest of fair and ethical treatment toward every member of the team, as well as maximizing the profitability potential of your assets, the spectators will require some specialized face time from you in an attempt to get them back to being active members of the team.

As a firm believer in the "Three Strikes" rule of business, it seems reasonable that the first written warning should be sufficient to bring the unintentional spectator back to the huddle with her head in the game, and a second written notice will begin the process of replacing a poor investment with someone who has the potential to be a new star performer.

2015 ≈ the Leader Coach blog ≈ JB Stran All Rights Reserved

Problematic Employees: Close The Complaint Department

2015-03-13T14:18:00.000-04:00

Reclaim Your Valuable Time By Closing the Complaint Department.

Falling under the "Tough Love" section heading of an SBA advanced management course I attended in Baltimore (too many) years ago, this challenge has less to do with an alienation of the chronic complainer and far more to do with effectively managing your personal resources.

"I'm Telling Mom!"

Nearly every team has at least one, and at times it can feel like yours are multiplying.
Regardless of how many of these chronic gripers you are living with, this small group of employees will insist on monopolizing your scarce free time with an endless stream of personal grudges.
So, how do you safely and respectfully curb this trend, and stop playing house-mother to a few employees who seem to be regressing before your eyes?

> First, recognize that each individual tends to color the world in their own way.
This means that we don't actually see the world around us as it is, but rather as we are.
It will often take new managers up to two years of conscious effort to craft and maintain a perspective of objectivity, something that most professional managers tend to take for granted once they have achieved this level of personal growth.

Specific to this subject: An habitual liar likes to think that everyone else is always lying in some way, and they both expect it and feel verified by pointing it out, whether or not it actually existed in everyone else's reality.
Ironically, they are telling the truth when doing so, despite the fact that they are wrong.

The slacker thinks that nearly everyone around them is also lazy, and their 'time thief' habits are justified because everyone else is trying to get over in some way as well.
The above examples are little more than basic human psychology, an (albeit feeble) attempt at rationalizing our bad and/or socially unacceptable behaviours.
"It's OK if I do it, because everyone else is doing it".
This particular type of mindset taps into a primal survival-instinct: The irrational fear of being left behind by the herd.*

The trick for the time-conscious manager therefore is to learn to read between the lines.
I'm not telling you to stop listening to the complaints, but instead to start hearing what the chronic complainer is actually saying about themselves.
You will very soon see the pattern of personal issues that require attention, and this will help you to deal directly with the real reason that this person has insisted on tying up your valuable face time with little more than gossip.

"Twenty percent of your people will occupy sixty percent of your time, and half of that is wasted on pointless whining." ≈ Anonymous (by choice) retired team manager

The old adage, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" isn't such a bad rule to live by, and it's far more valuable as a management policy.

- Avoid the temptation to view this type of input as an information resource:
There have been countless "advisers to the throne" throughout history, each with a personal agenda, and each considered a trusted source for a time before having their true motives discovered, usually long after irreparable damage to the boss's reputation or even the kingdom had occurred.

- Understand that for the vast majority of individuals, it is nearly impossible to relate a story or situation to a manager without putting a personal slant on the facts. A minor personal irritation easily becomes fodder for a complaint when they feel that every complaint has value to their manager-friend.
This naturally leads to the perception that the complainant's real value as an employee is tied directly to their ability to find more things and people to complain to you about.

- Clearly communicate your (new) personal policy with regard to high maintenance employees who seem to spend an inordinate amount of paid time both monitoring their co-workers, and then filing impromptu verbal reports that no one has asked them for.
Should they really have so little to do each day that they can find plenty of (paid) time to track fellow employees, then maybe the complainers are overdue for some additional duties to keep them fruitfully occupied.
These self-appointed managers may require a bit of special attention, but you will find this a valuable investment for the sake of the team and it's goals.
Your proactive approach to this issue will quickly see your daily stress levels dropping along with your personal time becoming far more productive.
So go ahead: Give yourself a big pat on the back.

2015 Leader Coach JB Stran

* The fear of being left behind by the herd (thus becoming food for a predator) is a primal instinct that all humans carry, although deeply embedded in their unconscious core along with their various other survival instincts, such as "Fight or Flight".
It has been the root of such popular axioms as "There's Always Safety in Numbers" and similar survival concepts, as well as many social adages like "Keeping Up With The Joneses".
This is a base fear that I have taught many marketing professionals to reach with their advertising in my 1995 book "Marketing To The Cro Magnon Masses", later retitled "Guerilla Marketing".

Effective Employee Communication

2015-03-13T13:18:00.000-04:00

How to Communicate Effectively with Your Team

by J.B. Stran

§ To quote George Bernard Shaw:

"The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has happened."

In his book "The Three Big Questions For A Frantic Family", management guru Pat Lencioni made it clear that managers spend lots of time and energy to develop and implement very specific and strategic plans for our businesses.

At home however, we tend to fly by the seat of our pants with our family members.

A similar phenomenon occurs within many businesses: We plan and strategize tirelessly to best engage external audiences such as customers, investors, media, and community, while too often forgetting to invest in our most valuable constituency, the employees who have the most control over the future of the company.

"You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere" ≈ Lee Iacocca

Employees have a significant impact on the final outcome of any work project.
They want to know where the company's heart is, it's vision and values. Your team members will engage or disengage based on the effectiveness of local management's ability to convey these core principles, along with clear, timely and effective updates.

Regular Communication Practices:

Develop a plan to regularly communicate with employees without making it tedious, especially if you have a younger workforce who tend to find routines difficult.

Regular meetings don't need to be weekly, but they will be necessary from time to time.

Pepper in the occasional one-on-one meetings to touch on recent successes and shortcomings.

> Avoid feedback that criticizes the employee rather than their actions.

Some members are more sensitive to criticism than others, just as some managers may have a personal presence that intimidates or 'rashes' certain employees.

> Ask if employees would like to receive feedback alerts to their smartphones.

Younger and more tech-savvy team members often prefer to get simple notices from and about the team the same way that they get their news: In small casual bites, and at their own pace.

> Employ social media for company alerts and workforce updates.

* Tip: Start a Facebook page for employee 'Weekly/Monthly News' updates to foster a feeling of engagement. The team can catch-up with their phones, tablets or computers at their pace, and show up the next day feeling briefed and up to date on the latest happenings that affect them and their goals.

( Now that most teenagers are moving away from Facebook, mainly because their parents have joined and are able to easily monitor them, team communication via this medium can have a more professional flavor.)

Bonus: This could help to eliminate the local rumor mill, and you can delegate the authority for this mission to an entry-level manager or to a particular employee-level (shift managers,foreman, department managers, etc.) whom you feel will remain professional, avoiding local gossip or any other unauthorized 'news'.
You and your management team are the editors, and they the reporter(s).

Feedback in the Workplace:

Solicit an active system of feedback from your employees.

This facilitates two-way communication and lets employees know that their ideas are important.

For managers, this offers the opportunity to gain new ideas, as well as offering some detailed insight into the employee's evolving jobs and skills.

As an example; While one employee is responding to complaints regarding a company policy or process, another employee may actually have a simple solution to the problem causing said complaints.

> Give feedback to encourage continued effort.

Respect the time and effort of the employee, and take note of specific areas of any shortcomings and training gaps that will need to be addressed at a future one-on-one meeting.

"Never miss a good chance to shut up" ≈ Will Rogers

> Listening can be your most valuable communication skill.

People begin to heal the moment they feel that someone is listening. Your "open door" policy means very little if you're glancing at incoming emails, or answering the phone, or any of the other subtle and often unconscious ways that managers show a lack of personal interest in what's being said.

“The most successful people I’ve known are the ones who do more listening than talking.” ≈ Bernard M. Baruch

The stronger your reputation as a good listener, the more comfortable employees will feel when they have information to share. This could easily relate to your being apprised of a potentially costly problem long before it has brewed to that stage.

> Coaching is the best Feedback.

Coaching is based on mutual respect, strict confidentiality, and trust. Your employees first need to know that you are credible, so only promise what you can deliver.

Managers can create credibility by admitting when they are wrong; never taking credit for another employee's ideas; never denigrating an employee for their ideas, especially in front of others; always indicating a willingness to communicate openly.

Match actions with your words. If you say you will address a situation in a certain way, then follow through. Anything less, and you are undermining your own credibility.

Remain objective. Never "spin" or assume how a piece of news will be interpreted.

Questioning effectively is key to the coaching approach. The coach asks questions to achieve:

- an accurate assessment of where the employee may need additional training,

- the proper response by management to meet mutual goals,

- the best path to help the employee find answers for themselves.

“When I get ready to talk to people, I spend two thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one third thinking about what I want to say.”
≈ Abraham Lincoln

> Negative Feedback

Some situations may cause undue tension on the part of the employee if they are made to feel as if under a personal attack. There are a few steps you can take to avoid this when the time has come for handling a difficult situation and you feel momentarily anxious about finding the right words.

- Prepare yourself. Check facts and positions, and deal with feelings, both yours and theirs.

- Approach the situation constructively. Humiliated employees will be reluctant to change.

- Deal with excuses respectively. Accountability is ideal, but some may need more time to get there.

- Ensure that people can accomplish what they said they will do. Support is always appreciated, and in most cases you will find it reciprocated.

“We have two ears and one mouth and we should use them proportionally.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

≈ 2015 Leader Hacker / JB Stran

Performance Improvement: Once Per Year is Not enough

2015-03-10T18:58:00.002-04:00

Performance Improvement:

That Single Annual Review Simply Won't Produce Measurable Change

Most companies participate in the mandatory "Annual Performance Review", often dreaded equally by both management and employees alike.

As someone who has endured far too many of these psychologically irritating sessions at a variety of different companies, as both the giver and the receiver, I can assure you that the majority of them are little more than an exercise in futility.

Middle management usually ends up with the responsibility of wading through the stack, as if they don't already have enough irons in the fire, and the tedium alone is enough to make a grown man scream into his pillow.

Pepper in a dozen Freudian sessions with "the Critics" (that small group of mildly delusional employees who seem convinced that they have been doing all of the company's work alone, flawlessly, and they can't wait to tell you which of their co-workers have been 'dropping the ball'), and you have a fine recipe for a mind-numbingly fictitious quest for performance enhancement.

There is a better way.

The missing piece of the performance improvement puzzle is timely and meaningful feedback throughout the year.

Research has shown that providing ongoing feedback in smaller bites, while the situation is fresh in the employee's mind, is far more effective than the annual one hour meeting, and will consistently produce gradual, lasting change.

Savvy professionals know that frequent contact, encouragement, and recognition with direct and honest feedback has been proven to produce employees who want to perform to a higher standard.

Communication with an emphasis on simplicity, a focus on the future and support for the employee's self-tracking is a winning combination that will yield measurable results.

2015 ≈ The Leader Hacker ≈ JB Stran

Productivity 101: How to Use Personal Kanban to Visualize Your Work

2015-02-25T21:24:00.001-05:00

The best productivity methods keep your to-dos in front of you and prioritized so you never wonder what to work on next. Some are complicated, but others make it easy to see everything, organized by priority—so easy you could use Post-It notes if you wanted.
Let's talk about one of those systems: Personal Kanban.

Personal Kanban is a productivity system that's easy to get started with, only has two real "rules," and is designed to give you a simple, visual look at what's on your plate, what your priorities are, and what you've accomplished.
It's a bit like other productivity systems we've highlighted, like Getting Things Done (GTD) and the Pomodoro Technique. It has a general structure you can follow, and a number of tools that can help you get started and, stick with it.
It's not a philosophy the way Kaizen approach is, but there is definitely room to tweak the system to work for you, and incorporate lessons learned from the things you've accomplished. Let's start with what Personal Kanban is, then get into how you can use it.

Source credit: Lifehacker Productivity 101: How to Use Personal Kanban to Visualize Your Work

25 Best and Beautiful Vintage Photography examples

2014-06-14T14:41:00.001-04:00

25 Best and Beautiful Vintage Photography examples

Gun Control and Our History

2013-03-03T12:35:00.000-05:00

Gun Control Through Our Civilized History

A LITTLE GUN CONTROL HISTORY

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control.
From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves,
were rounded up and exterminated.

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In 1911, Turkey established gun control.
From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves,
were rounded up and exterminated.

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Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945,
a total of 13 million people (Jew, Gypsy and other races deemed "inferior") who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

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China established gun control in 1935.
From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents,
unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated

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Guatemala established gun control in 1964.
From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians,
unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

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Uganda established gun control in 1970.
From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves,
were rounded up and exterminated.

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Cambodia established gun control in 1956.
From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people,
unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
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Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century
as a direct result of gun control: ~56 million.

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You won't see this data on the US evening news, or hear politicians disseminating this information.

Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property almost daily and, yes,
gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note my fellow Americans, before it's too late!
The next time someone talks in favor of gun control, please remind them of this history lesson.

With guns, we are 'citizens'. Without them, we are 'subjects' and too often, Targets).

During WWII the Japanese made the tactical decision to call off an invasion of America
because they knew that most Americans were ARMED!

If you value your freedom, please spread this anti gun-control message to all of your friends.

The purpose of fighting is to win.

There is no possible victory in defense.

The sword is far more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either.

The final weapon is the brain.

All else is supplemental.

JB.

Life Secrets #7: Why Carry Arms?

2013-03-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

Life Lesson: Armed Carry

Why Do You Carry A Gun?

Why I Carry a Gun

- My old grandpa said to me 'Son,
there comes a time in every man's life when he stops
bustin' knuckles and starts bustin' caps
and Usually it's when he becomes too old to take an butt whoopin.'

I don't carry a gun to kill people.
I carry a gun to keep from being killed.

I don't carry a gun to scare people.
I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.

I don't carry a gun because I'm paranoid.
I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I'm evil.
I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.

I don't carry a gun because I hate the government.
I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.

I don't carry a gun because I'm angry.
I carry a gun so that I don't have to spend the rest of my life
hating myself for failing to be prepared.

I don't carry a gun because I want to shoot someone.
I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed,
and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.

I don't carry a gun because I'm a cowboy.
I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven, I want to be a cowboy.

I don't carry a gun to make me feel like a man.
I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.

I don't carry a gun because I feel inadequate.
I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.

I don't carry a gun because I love it.
I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.

I carry because I understand that Police protection is an oxymoron,
and that Free citizens must protect themselves.

Police do not protect you from crime,
they usually just investigate the crime after it happens
and then call someone in to clean up the mess.

Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die
and too old to take an butt whoopin'

... author unknown

( but obviously brilliant )

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Copyright Stran Photography § HealthySelfCures.com