Incoherent Thoughts

And So It Begins ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 15:47:00 +0000

The other day, my daughter begins to draw on my whiteboard in the office. When she finished, this is what she drew ...

And so the Christmas Season begins in the Guadagna household!

She's already marked up the Target Toy Catalog that came in the mail last week. I remember when I was a kid, we'd get the Sear's Wish Book in October or November. This was a thick catalog (at least 2") filled with toys, games and clothes. All the siblings would fight over who got the catalog first and begin writing out their Christmas Wish List to give to our Mom. We'd spend days pouring over it's numerous pages to find just the right toy.

We'd also spend days just before Christmas cleaning our rooms to make room for all the new toys and games we'd be getting.

Good times indeed.

Nowadays, the Sear's Wish Book is an antiquated object given our Green-leanings and all the online wishlist sources. With Target, Walmart, Amazon and every specialty store having Black Friday specials and their own Holiday ad slicks, who needs one!

Post Birthday Coffee and Scone

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 14:49:00 +0000

While the Wife and Daughter are enjoying a preview of the new Muppet movie, I'm enjoying some time with a Coffee, Scone and my blogs.

What Your Business Can Learn From Lady Gaga

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:10:00 +0000

Say what you want about Lady Gaga, but being a slacker is not one of them. She has propelled herself to stardom. But like most overnight successes, it was through her hard work, determination and some shrewd business tactics that she enjoys that success she has today.

So you think Lady Gaga has nothing to do with your business? Looking at her success, we can glean a few things that we can apply to almost any business.


1) A Product or Service People Want

Her music isn't for everybody, but then neither were the Beatles when they first hit the scene. But, her product, her music, hits the right demographics (that beloved 15-24 crowd - you know, those individuals with free time and spare cash).

How can you apply this? Is your product or service wanted, needed or desired by your target market? Do you even know who your target market is? Learn about your demographics, what their needs are, then deliver a product or service that fills that space.


2) Product/Service Add-ons

Music is a wonderful business for add-ons. Not only do you have the sales for music, for both singles and albums, but, you also have concerts, posters, t-shirts and any number of merchandising opportunities that you can think of. And of course, Lady Gaga has her image on many of those products. I dare say that a reality TV show around Lady Gaga is not out of the question.

How can you apply this? Can you create other add-ons or opportunities around your product or service? How about a membership site around your service? Can you write a book or e-book about how to use your product? Even selling t-shirts or other merchandise with your logo on it can be effective.


3) Raving Fans

What would Lady Gaga be without her "Little Monsters"? Her raving fans that follow her every move and hang on her every word. It is these fans that help her promote and support her work. Having a pet name for them helps endear Lady Gaga to her fans and creates a unique bond with them.

How can you apply this? Do you have raving fans? At the very least, do you have happy customers? If you do, these fans can help promote your product or service and gain you new fans.


4) Communicate 

Lady Gaga is always talking to her Little Monsters through Twitter or Facebook. Updating her fan base on what she is up to and what is going on in her life. Whether it's words of encouragement or announcements about her new single or tour, she keeps them informed and entertained.

How can you apply this? How do you communicate with your fans or customers? Do you even communicate with them? With Google+, Twitter, Facebook, email, blogs, it's easy and inexpensive to keep in touch with your fans and have them keep in touch with you. If you don't already use them, get yourself a Google+, Twitter and Facebook accounts and learn how to use them. Each has advantages and disadvantages and should be used differently depending on your message.


5) Win-Win Partnerships

Her partnership with Amazon on her latest single was very lucrative for both Lady Gaga and Amazon. Not only did Lady Gaga undoubtedly pick up new fans from offering her single at $0.99 on the day it was releases, but Amazon gained new users of it's Amazon Cloud Player and MP3 service. A definite win-win for both partners.

How can you apply this? Can you create win-win partnerships with other businesses? Even if you just share marketing material, you gain access to that business' clientele and they gain access to yours. A definite win-win for both of you.


6) Be Seen Everywhere

Not only can you hear Lady Gaga's music everywhere on the radio and on commercials, but you can see her in music videos, appearances on TV Talk Shows, Award Ceremonies, you name it. It's getting so that you can't change the channel and not see Lady Gaga. This helps her to promote her brand, her image and her music.

How can this apply to you? Marketing your product can be tricky. You don't know when, where or how someone is going to notice or find you. So it's beneficial to have your name, message and product in as many venues as possible. At a minimum, you should be marketing and communicating on the web, Google+, Twitter and Facebook. How about print ads? TV or radio ads? Use them all if it makes sense and it is within your budget.

Regardless of what your business is, we can always learn what other businesses and people are doing to promote themselves, their products or services. Why reinvent the wheel? Discover what the successful people are doing and adapt it to your products or services.

Who knows, with your new found success, you could be rubbing elbows with Lady Gaga.

Twitter Milestone

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:51:00 +0000

I just noticed that I have over 1000 Twitter followers. 1001 to be exact. I'm not very active in the Social Media scene, but to have amassed 1000+ followers surprises and delights me.

As their "reward," I followed them back.

My 1000th follower is @redheadwritrgrl and my 1001st follower is @SelenaSally1718.

I am grateful to all my followers. I hope something I tweet surprises and delights you.

Mobile Shot: The Crazy Guy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 03:54:00 +0000

A portrait of me by my daughter. Not sure if I should be scared or not. She calls it "The Crazy Guy." It's a little dark because she did it on my whiteboard, my camera sucks and any light I had on gave me tremendous glare.

How do you want to feel?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 05:27:00 +0000

For the past 5 years, Scott Smith over at Motivation to Move has been asking me and all his members, each and every Friday, "How do you want to feel?"

A question I never gave much thought to until recently.

Lately, Monday has come around and I haven't had a sense that I accomplished anything. After listening to Scott for the past few years asking "How do you want to feel?" I thought it might be helpful to start answering that question.

So, a few weeks ago, I've been taking a few moments each Friday to figure out how I want to feel throughout the weekend. One of my sticking points was that I would forget, so I put it on my task list to do each Friday morning.

So far, it's been working and it's been helpful. I've realized that the two things I've wanted to feel on Mondays is to be rested and to have spent quality time with my family. Knowing this, I've been able to schedule the weekends around those two things.

How about you? Take a moment and figure out how you want to feel come Monday morning. Let the answer to this question shape everything you do: your eating, your activities, who you're with, where you go, everything.

Then on Monday, reflect on what you did over the weekend, what worked, what didn't and how you can make it better. Then, ask yourself "How do you want to feel this week?" Every time you ask yourself this question, and honestly answer, you can start shaping your life to what you want and start to achieve the goals you've set out for yourself. You do have goals, don't you? Ah well, that's another post entirely.

New LNTC Post: It's Good to be the Turtle

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:28:00 +0000

Here's my NaBloPoMo for today. A new post on my Lake Norman Tai Chi Center blog: http://lakenormantaichi.com/blog/its-good-to-be-the-turtle/

Funny Vonage Transcription

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:41:00 +0000

Why should Google Voice have all the fun? Vonage has been transcribing voice mails for a while now. I got this message the other day from a recruiting firm offering me a pancreas!

Not sure if I should call them back considering I really don't need one right now ...

New LNTC Post:

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:46:00 +0000

Here's my NaBloPoMo for today. It's over on my other blog for Lake Norman Tai Chi Center. Here's the link: http://lakenormantaichi.com/blog/5-secret-earth-shattering-hair-raising-natural-ways-to-boost-your-energy/

The Time Change Effect

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:20:00 +0000

We just adjusted our clocks this past weekend to end daylight savings time and return to standard time. Did you notice?

I remember when I was kid when the time changed, we would wake up that Sunday and spend some time (pun intended) to reset our clocks: the alarm clocks, the kitchen clock, the living room clock, the VCR clocks, the microwave oven clock, the stove clock and all our watches. It was quite a feat to change all of them. In some cases, we'd have to dig up instructions on how to change the time on a particular device.

Nowadays, it's noticeably different. Yesterday morning I changed 2 clocks: the clock in the living room and the clock on the stove. I haven't changed the one in the car yet - I need to find those instructions first.

Most of our devices update the time automatically. Our laptops, tablets and cell phones update the time from the internet. Even our cordless handsets get the time updated from our Vonage phone adapter. I don't wear a watch on a regular basis and my alarm clock is my cell phone.

Since we gained an hour of time, I got an extra hour of sleep and today, I'm not as tired as I usually am, so the extra hour did me good, which means I wasn't physically effected by the change. Unlike when daylight savings time starts and we lose an hour. Losing that hour is like jet lag, it takes a couple of days to acclimate.

My wife didn't realize that the time had changed until today. Because I changed the 2 clocks before she woke up Sunday morning, she had no indication of the change. It made me wonder if someone had no clocks that needed manual adjustment, would they notice that the time changed?

It also makes me wonder why we need the time change at all? I;m sure there was a good reason for it when it was implemented, but does it still make sense?

I guess that is something I can ponder as I change the clock in our vehicle. Now, how do you change the clock in a 2004 Jeep Liberty? Time to find the owner's manual ...

Blogging For Blogging's Sake ... Really??

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 01:20:00 +0000

This year, the NaBloPoMo theme is "blogging for blogging's sake." The point is to do a blog post because, well, I'm not sure and I guess that is my dilemma.

The point of blogging, for me anyway, is to impart my knowledge and expertise on subjects and to pass on information that comes my way that I might think is useful for you. Why would I write something, unless there's a reason for it.

Which leads to my purpose for doing this. To see if I can actually come up with 30 topics that you will want to read.

To help the intrepid blogger who has nothing to write about, the people running NaBloPoMo are posting a Prompt of the Day. The prompts they've posted so far are:

What is your favourite part about writing? (Finishing)
If you knew that whatever you ate next would be your last meal, what would you want it to be? (Pizza and a good micro-brew, or several)
Can you listen to music and write? What song did you hear today? (Yes. Listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers at Caribou as I write this sentence)
When you are writing, do you prefer to use a pen or a computer? (Both. They each have their purpose)

I see why this is helpful in case you have nothing to write about but, still need to do your post for the day. I'd like to get into the habit of coming up with my topics that are relevant to my blogs.

I could make the case that these prompts fit into my Incoherent Thoughts theme, but what would I do December 1st? I'd be so used to someone else coming up with my topics, I'd be lost.

Being able to come with topics and write about them with some level of competence and clarity ate what my goals are for NaBloPoMo. So, if you start seeing posts about my last meal (Food Posts are on the horizon though) or if I'd prefer pens or computers, you know I've run out of ideas.

NaBloPoMo: The Beginning

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 02:36:00 +0000

I've decided to participate in NaBloPoMo, or National Blog Posting Month, well, at least in spirit. If you don't know what NaBloPoMo is, look here.

I heard about it on TWiT's Tech News Today earlier this week, but I had no desire to participate. But, the other day as I was walking out to my car with one of my students, he mentioned that he was doing NaNoWriMo. Now, I've no intention of writing a novel, a Great American one or otherwise. But, I do want to post more on my blogs. Something stirred in me, maybe it was left over from our Meditation class, but internally I decided that I should do NaBloPoMo.

It's not like I'm already busy working a full-time job, running a Martial Arts school and being a loving husband and parent. It'll be no problem setting aside time everyday to write a total of 30 blog posts and coming up with unique topics for each post! Yes, I'm joking :-)

Actually, I'm going to cheat a little. I have 2 blogs, this one and my blog for Lake Norman Tai Chi Center. I've been meaning to write more on that blog for business and marketing purposes. So this experiment will allow me to do that. What I will do is when I post there, I'll also post a link to it here.

Since it is already November 3rd as I write this, I technically already failed at NaBloPoMo, but not to worry. I'm only 2 posts down and I've no intention of winning any prize. I'm going to do this in the spirit of NaBloPoMo to see if I coud post something daily.

At least it's not 50,000 words ...

Fiery Beauty atop Grandfather Mountain

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:56:00 +0000

I took this picture during a family outing to Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina this past weekend. We had a blast. It was fun to spend some family time together away from home.

QR-tastic Failure

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 16:51:00 +0000

QR Code Marketing Failure!

This came in my Valpak this week. Note to businesses: If you're planning a QR campaign, make sure the QR code links to an active web page BEFORE the mailing goes out!

Not All Heroes Wear Spandex - But It Helps

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 02:49:00 +0000

I never collected comics when I was a kid. I may have gotten a couple as gifts or my Mom bought some when we went to the drug store, but I never collected them. I remember reading the occasional Mad Magazine, Cracked and I saw the ubiquitous Superman and Batman. I was more interested in watching Batman and Superman on TV, than reading them in comics.

It wasn't until I was in high school and stepped into Fantasy World and met Norm that my eyes were opened to the world of comics and graphic novels. I fell in love with the works of Neil Gaiman - who remains my favorite author to this day. I was never interested in the super hero stories, but some of the remakes that portrayed the heroes as mortal everyday people did interest me.

My wife on the other hand grew up reading comics. She actually learned to read, much to the dismay of her parents, by reading comics. Her favorite comic was, and still is, Archie. I remember my wife purchasing an Archie's Double Digest on one of her visits to Bahrain to renew her Kuwait Visa. When she moved to the States, she brought this book with her.

It was this Archie's comic that that piqued the interest of our daughter. When she was younger, she would look at all the drawings, as she got older and started to read, she would actually read the comic strips within. There were more than a few times when I'd wake her up for school, that I found the book under her pillow. Last summer I bought a comic book for her from the library, which she has read several times.

I've been wanting to take her to a comic book store to experience the full effect of comics. When I discovered that Saturday May 7th was Free Comic Book Day, I decided it was time! I wanted to surprise her, so when we were finished with our errands that day, we went to Spandex City in Charlotte.

As we entered the store, her expression was priceless. She was certainly overwhelmed with all the selections. I let her pick out 2 books. It took her awhile and she chose the latest Pokemon and Bakugan issues.

As I was walking around, I was reminded of my many trips to Fantasy World. Fond memories, of which I have quite a few comic books and graphic novels to show for.

Since that trip, my daughter has been wanting to return to Spandex City. I'm pleased with that. I've talked with the owners and employees there and they have the same love and excitement for Comics that Norm did. I'm sure that they'll help my daughter discover new and interesting comics like Norm did for me.

I'm happy to support my daughter's love for comics just as much as I'm happy to support a locally owned business.

mynameischance.com BTS Documentary: "Wonderin' How You Do It"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:47:00 +0000

A Fatherly Moment of Zen

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:06:00 +0000

Each day, with the exception of Sunday, I get up around 6:00 AM so that I have some time to myself before the rest of the family wakes up. During this time, I meditate, practice my Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga or some conditioning exercises. After that, I'll grab something to eat if I am hungry and then I head to my office to do some writing. This is my "me time." The time I spend on just myself to rejuvenate my mind, body and spirit. It's a great start to my day and helps energize me for what I have planned for the rest of the day. The meditation, tai chi and exercise help with my writing as they get my mind settled and focused and the blood flowing. All this before I have my morning cup of coffee or tea, too! I follow this practice most days, or at least I try to. I go with the flow with whatever the morning, or the night before, brings to me. Like this morning.

When I woke this morning, it was 6:30. I realized I had slept through my alarm. Just as I was debating getting up, my daughter walks quietly into the room and promptly climbs into bed and snuggles up against me and wraps her arms and legs around me along with her prized bear in her arms. A moment of bliss I decided to cherish, along with the hour of moments that followed. Now, you may be asking yourself "What about your meditation, your tai chi, your writing?" And rightly so. I think most Type A personalities would've pushed their child aside and gotten out of bed anyway. As for me, I was able to do some yoga and writing later in the day. And the moments I had spent with my daughter that morning was my meditation, my fatherly moment of Zen. At the end of the day, I had a sense of accomplishment and it was a great day.

As a father, husband, entrepreneur and human, I make these decisions every moment of every day. How much time do I spend with family, on me, on my writing, on my businesses, in my businesses, on household chores or just doing nothing? At the end of the day, though, I will always cherish the time I spend with family and friends. It's a tough balancing act and I may not get it right all the time. But, I continue to try with a fierce determination, dedication and perseverance to create a good life for me and my family. And if I continue to have moments like this morning, I will succeed.

On Focus, Confidence and Building a Business

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:41:00 +0000

My daughter has been sick with a persistent cough that has kept all of us awake at night. After getting about four hours sleep, she woke us up. After my wife finally got her asleep, I was still awake. Every time I dozed off, I immediately woke up. I kept thinking about my Tai Chi school and what I need to do to get it rolling.

Lately, I've been struggling with what I need to do. When I was laid off over a year ago, my plan was to take on project work because I wanted to be my own boss. It never materialized like I wanted it too. When I got my certification to teach Tai Chi in February, I started to plan my Tai Chi school.

I now have my feet firmly on two paths: Project Work and Tai Chi School. My focus is split.

Recently, I've switched from finding project-based work to finding a full-time job. This decision came about because of the need to provide for my family and that we're struggling right now. Unfortunately, nobody seems to need my specific talents. Yikes, most of the web is written in PHP - and you're telling me you don't need a PHP programmer! If I had more readers, I'd add a donation button. Instead you should check out the ads at the bottom of the main page :-).

I've realized though, that my passion is in opening a Tai Chi school. I teach a couple of days a week for my Sifu and I thoroughly enjoy it. I know it is what I want to do and I get it work for myself. Teaching and talking to people about Tai Chi is not a problem for me. My problem is in forging business relationships, the communications necessary to start a business, especially on a shoe-string budget (or in my case, a no-string budget).

I'm not very good at relationships or communicating. My best relationships are with my wife and daughter, but I certainly can improve those. My wife, on the other hand, is a natural at communicating and forging those relationships. Part of it is the man vs. woman thing. But mostly it is confidence. Or a lack of it.

So, here I am, trying to start a business without 100% focus and a lack of confidence! I think I need to change something ... you think?

New Twitter Goodies

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:56:00 +0000

I was trying to find a new twitter widget for Blogger to show my Twitter updates. The one I'm using now, which is the same that is included in WordPress as well, is plain and boring looking. I came across a new widget from Twitter. Not only did they update the look of the original widget, but they added a new widget to show updates based on search criteria!

You can find the new widgets here: http://twitter.com/goodies/widgets

I tried the new widget on this blog, and it didn't look quite right. The header was too tall and the updates didn't scroll properly. So I had to revert to the original.

I tried the new widget on my Rivyoohoo site and it looks great. There are a few parameters that you can modify. The author of the widget Dustin Diaz has a blog post that explains some of these options.

Showing twitter updates based on search criteria is really cool. I can't wait to find a place to use that functionality.

Twitter also updated the widgets for Facebook and Myspace.

If you need to revert to the old widgets, you can find them here: http://twitter.com/badges.

Blog Mods

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:24:00 +0000

For the 6 readers and 1 friend (I had 7 readers, but one dropped out, probably because I post too much :-)), you may have noticed a slight change in how my blog posts are displayed. I've been doing a lot of work in WordPress lately for several projects. One of the things I really like about WordPress is the ability to show an excerpt on the main page with a link to read more. This helps to keep the main page clean (as long as you don't overload the sidebars with widgets).

Blogger does not support this feature natively. By editing the HTML of your template and some optional "magic" tags in each post, you can mimic the excerpt functionality. This isn't for the faint of heart and requires some technical skill. I found the following post very helpful:

http://webupd8.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogger-read-more-post-summaries-fix.html

To get it to work properly, I had to translate the & tags to the proper character.

Time Is An Illusion

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:03:00 +0000

My daughter starts school next week and my thoughts (as incoherent as they are) turn to what I'll do with all the "free" time I'll have. Since being laid off last year (exactly one year tomorrow), I've spent most of my days taking care of my daughter, surfing the web, making lunch, doing the laundry, helping my wife with the technical side of her jewelry business, looking for freelance projects and starting up my Tai Chi school I suppose my days won't change too much, except my daughter won't be here, but they do need to change.

Why, you ask? Easy, I'm not progressing and attaining my goals like I want. I do waste a lot of my time on the internet. Not really mindless surfing, but in reading email, searching for information and twitter (O.K., that is mindless :-)). I don't watch a lot of TV, except during football season. The TV I watch is targeted (just a few shows), but I sometimes will sit on the couch at night mindlessly watching TV. Lately, I've been trying to catch up on my email during this time.

I read an article today from Michael Masterson on How to Allocate Your Hours for Maximum Productivity. I've heard his theories before on Time Management in prior articles and books from him. I've also read Dan Kennedy's book No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs. He has a ruthless approach to Time Management which may seem draconian at first, but do make a lot of sense.

Kennedy and Masterson both have great tips for managing your time. The biggest time management tip both authors espouse is not reading your email first thing in the morning. What you should do first thing in the morning is something that takes you closer to a long-term goal.

Today, I found myself reading Masterson's article (delivered via email) and realized that I've spent the morning reading email and not doing anything on my To-Do list or anything that will get me closer to any of my goals. What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results! Certainly something needs to change if I'm to reach any of my goals.

With my daughter attending kindergarten next week, we've been getting up earlier (and going to bed earlier) so we can get to school on time. So, while I acclimatize both my daughter and myself to our new schedules, I pledge to practice better Time Management. I plan to do this by practicing some of my favorite Time Management tips.

Here are my top 5 Time Management tips that I pledge to practice daily:

Do not read your email, or any type of web surfing, first thing in the morning. Save it for the end of the day.
Put no more than three things on your To-Do list. Anything more and you'll be overwhelmed and may not do anything.
Do the most important thing on your To-Do list first. As Brian Tracy puts it, "Eat That Frog."
Work out or exercise first thing in the morning. Get the blood flowing! It's what your brain needs to have a productive day.
Get up early. So you can exercise and spend time on the things important to you.

There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of Time Management tips. I've decided to work on these five for now.

Recommended reading:

Michael Masterson's Early To Rise blog and newsletter
No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy
Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy
The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris

A Lazy Wednesday Afternoon

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:59:00 +0000

The other day, a friend and I were talking about how life can drastically be changed by things that can happen on a lazy Tuesday afternoon. We were talking about things with global implications such as a hurricane hitting Florida, two countries going to war, those newsworthy stories that can affect a large population. They usually happen on a lazy Tuesday afternoon when nobody expects them, when we're busy enjoying the sunshine, out shopping, or sleeping in. Those things can happen to us at a personal level as well. Those events that can change the direction of our life forever.
Mine came, not on a Tuesday, but a lazy Wednesday afternoon. Just after lunch in fact. My boss had called while I was at lunch. I was home, so I did hear the phone ring, but I was having lunch with my family, so I let it ring to voice mail. I called back and that was when he informed me that the company was not getting in enough work to support me and that they had to let me go.

Done. Door closed. Life changed. As simple and quick as that.

I can't say that it wasn't unexpected. My projects have dwindled over the past few months. Communications with the home office were sparse. And I just had that feeling. Back in June, I had this thought of what would I do if I lost my job. So I created a plan. And I started to act on that plan.

It became apparent that there were things I wanted to do and I could only do them if I left my, then, current employer. Unfortunately, I didn't act fast enough and didn't have my full plan in place before I was unceremoniously dumped. My wife and I have been working on a few projects of our own. Not all of them are complete, so stay tuned for updates. Here is what we have ready:

My Wife has been working on hand-made crafts for the past year. Starting with all-season wreaths and home decor items and now designing and creating unique jewelry. You can find her creations at Golden Flower Creations. She currently uses Etsy to sell her crafts but, we will soon be changing that so we can target a more precise audience. She will be adding new products to her site daily, so check back often. She's also becoming a blog-maven with her Zenventures blog and she's also a featured blogger for Working Mother. She also has more surprises in store, so stay tuned.

As for me, I've been creating and writing software applications for almost 20 years! I love the challenge and the satisfaction of a completed project. I also love the flexibility of working at home on my own schedule so I can watch our daughter grow up and be accessible to my family when needed. I currently enjoy developing applications for the web, using all the latest languages, tools and gadgets that make the internet a fun and interesting place. I also realize that not everyone needs a full time developer on their staff and only need such talents for certain projects. It is with all of that in mind that I created Seven Stars Technology. A place where I can showcase my freelance development work and a place to create industry-specific and general use websites, tools and applications.

I'll be honest with you. We are not in a great financial situation. Times will be tough for us for the foreseeable future. But I know we'll be OK. We have incredible and generous friends, a supporting family and there is fantastic opportunities for all of us. If you happen to know someone (or know someone who knows someone ... maybe even Kevin Bacon himself :-)) who could use some help with their website or a custom web or desktop application or anyone who is looking for unique home decor or jewelry items, let us know.

I Want A New Papa

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Note: I was asked to write an article for The Peaceful Dragon newsletter. I've reprinted the article here for posterity.

Earlier this year, my daughter (who was three at the time) and I were having an argument about the cleanliness of her room. She was adamant about not wanting to clean her room because she couldn't. I was adamant about her cleaning her room because she should. Either way, it ended in tears (hers, not mine) and her storming into my office declaring, "I want a new Papa!" and then storming off to the living room to cry. I guess her room was too messy. Moments later, she comes back to my office still sobbing. I looked at her and asked, "Do you still want a new Papa?" She looked at me and between the sobs she said, "No, he would be just as difficult." I was stunned and I almost fell out of my chair in hysterical laughter. I asked her to repeat herself to make sure I heard correctly and so that I wouldn't make her cry further by laughing at her. I'm not sure if I was stunned because she didn't want me to be her Papa or that I was being taught a life lesson by a three year old. Probably a bit of both. I got over the former (she has told my wife that she wants a new Mama), but I'm still stunned (and impressed) over the latter.
How many of us go through life wanting something more, something different? Thinking that our lives would be better if only we had that red sports car, a new husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, parents, new shoes, that little black dress, that silk shirt, and/or the latest and greatest widget, gadget or thing-a-ma-bob! Or how about in our own practice? We'd be better if we could remember our forms, have this or that body type, or if our partners were shorter, taller, skinnier, or fatter we could execute this or that technique much better. We become so attached to the outcome of what we want, we lose sight of the moment.

In the Ch'an (Zen) tradition, expecting to be satisfied by the want, desire, or need is what creates suffering and stress. Notice I didn't say the actual want, desire, or need was the culprit. It's the expectation of the outcome that creates the suffering or stress. You can want, desire or even think you need ice cream. But, as long as your life isn't driven by the need for ice cream, or the expectation of having ice cream, you will not experience suffering or stress if you don't get the ice cream. We can also take attachment to the extreme of addiction. Desiring the outcome of something so much, that we will destroy ourselves, steal from our neighbors, or even kill in cold blood just to attain it. We have many addictions; some serious (drugs, alcohol, nicotine) and some not so serious (caffeine, food, television). It's not that we really want the cigarettes, the drugs, or to sit in front of the idiot box. It's the outcome of doing those things that we desire and expect. The sooner we realize that expecting an outcome leads to our suffering and stress, the better our lives will become.

My daughter wanted the outcome of not cleaning her room so bad, she wanted a new Papa. Or, was she just being a typical three year old? I'd like to think my daughter has an advanced understanding of life, the universe and everything, but maybe not. Not too long after that episode, we had the same argument and again she stated "I want a new Papa!" Maybe she's telling me that I need to be less attached to the idea of her having a clean bedroom.

Time Enough For Nothing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Every month, my Sifu sends out a monthly lesson. Each lesson contains an assignment to be done by each student and returned back to him by the end of the month. This was my response to his assignment: "Write a paragraph explaining whether you feel you have enough time in your day, and why."

Do I have enough time in my day? Hmm, well from a purely scientific point of view, I have 24 hours - the time it takes the Earth to rotate 1 revolution around it's axis. I physically can't have any more time no matter how much I demand (or think I need) it. I also can't have any less time. We all have 24 hours in a day - no more and no less.

If you look at the usable time in a day, the time you have between waking up and going to sleep, that is totally in my control (what an illusion that is!) but still limited by the 24 hours in a day. I can get up really early and go to bed very late, or even stay awake for the entire 24 hours, but that would catch up to me eventually and I would have to sleep.

In reality though, it seems that there isn't enough time in the day. It seems there is always something to do and seemingly never enough time to do it. But, that is less to do with not having enough time in the day and more to do with not using the time we all have efficiently. And that is an entirely different question.

I'd like to share my favorite quote from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "Time is an illusion. Lunch time doubly so."

Happy Children's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:42:00 +0000

Last night, my daughter was making a Mother's Day card for my wife. After she was done, she asked: "When is it going to be Happy Children's Day?"