By Roy Curtis
Think about it - you have already been living in a terrible recession with no end in sight. With a lot of work and planning you have tried to position yourself into a place to survive to the end of it, and maybe gain a little back. Don't you think now just might be a pretty good time to move out of the survival mode?
I have some tips that may help. Of course, I have a motive of my own, but the primary reason is to remember something a friend told me - "Remember, when you help someone by rowing them across the river, you get there yourself". I thought that was some pretty good advice and have made it a point to remember it as one of my business and also my personal motives.
One of the biggest things a successful person must to is to manage your goals. Without goal management, those dreams will never turn into reality and your biggest reward will be disappointment. Remember, when your ship comes in, don't be waiting at the airport.
Make a written list of your goals. Write it down! Now, you have the targets, it is time to examine and plan. Look over the bigger picture and see just how your dreams will fit and examine what tools you will need to gain progress. Write those down too, you will need that information later.
With what you have now, examine what you think the future will look like and how your plans will fit in. It won't be easy, but with some good educated guessing, possibilities will come out. Don't give up now but continue to try to see what the future has based on what your potential actions will do for you. Not a bad idea to do this daily.
Being a leader, now or in training, formulate those plans - in writing! Go step by step, one thing at a time. Just make sure they are in the proper order, but be flexible and roll with the changes that come out. You probably still have some problems from yesterday, but work with them and include solutions into your plans.
Talk to the professionals, the ones that have been down this path. You should have points from people that you work with and the folks that work for you. Do some reading, but be careful because tips etc. from 6 months ago are history. Try to get the absolute latest information you can find from whatever sources available. Do a weeding process and erase those things not relevant.
Be flexible and understand that change is inevitable. Great idea to look for alternates and don't let surprises be surprises. One way to slow this process is to get everything in writing. Handshake deals are fine on that friendly basis you created, but when things go sour --- well, 'nuff said.
Be money smart. Taxes have to be paid, bills require money, and you also have to pay yourself. In our business, we re-invest, but we also hold a large percentage in reserve. Create a savings account system for yourself and any emergencies, both personal and business.
Form new habits, both work and personal time; then get in a rut by doing it over and over until it becomes a good habit. Be a little quiet and listen to learn. I am not advising you to judge others, but copy their best habits, their best leadership qualities and their best manners in what they do and how they do it. Many times things left unsaid are much more beneficial to everyone concerned.
Get out and socialize by attending trade shows in your field, your work force friends, and your church. Be careful with this, but socialize on line as well. There are ways to gain friends in your career via the network that have many of the same interests that you do. Educate yourself as much as possible. Read about good management practices, and follow them. There is a lot of FREE information out there if you look for it. The goal here is to create a better social life for yourself and your family.
Focus --- Focus --- Focus
Roy Curtis
Roy is retired military as a radar controller, both Airborne and Ground. Spent 9 years as a Radio Announcer and retired from the corporate world after 14 years as an information analysist, working with classified information for a computer chip manufacturer. Roy is a commercial pilot (ASEL) and has a degree in Interstate Commerce Commission law. Ezine Articles Expert Author.
Sherry worked as an aircraft parts inventory specialist as a government employee, later as a scheduler and coordinator for a large flight school and retired from the corporate world as a legal administrative assistant for a very large computer chip manufacturer.
Speaking in technical Tolkien terms, Treebeard is an ancient Ent, whose spirit was conjured by Eru IIuvatar and Vala Yavana in order to foster protection against the evil Morgoth. To the casual observer, he’s a giant scary tree that can walk and talk. Treebeard is a big tree with a beard (hence the name), and he’s absolutely terrifying. He’s so terrifying, in fact, that he freaks out all of the other terrifying creatures in Middle-earth. Even after saving two Hobbits from certain doom in The Two Towers, he still makes a concerted effort to be horrifying and curmudgeonly. Orcs, Hobbits, Elves, and probably even the Balrog seem to find sentient foliage unsettling. So, to review: Treebeard is a big weird creature that makes other big weird creatures say “holy crap, did you see that giant talking tree? That was weird!”
One of the earliest examples of an anthropomorphic creature in film came in 1902 with the French silent movie Le Voyage Dans La Lune (A Trip to the Moon, for those of you who don’t spreken ze French). The film is about some Frenchmen who go to the moon. The brave adventurers construct a space capsule and launch it from a giant cannon into space. Meanwhile, a very distraught moon watches all of this with its big grumpy moon face. The reckless Frenchmen then pilot the space capsule directly into the Moon’s right eye. The film kind of falls apart after this. The explorers take a nap, fight some hostile moon men using only their umbrellas, and then have a parade back on Earth. Clearly, none of this bodes well for the future of Franco-Lunar relations.
Aslan is a boss, and there’s no denying it. Jesus allegory or not, a big demigod lion that doles out both parental advice and life-ending maulings is something everyone can enjoy. To make things even better, Aslan is voiced by Liam Neeson (of Taken fame). Aslan is selfless and regal, and he even gets resurrected three days after being executed (again with the Jesus allegory). The only thing that would have made this adaptation better would be if all three of the Pevensie kids were kidnapped in Paris by the White Witch, forcing Aslan to engage in an orgy of blood-soaked vengeance while breaking up a child prostitution ring, then giving all of the children singing lessons with a tween pop star. That seems like something C.S. Lewis would’ve wanted.
The Cat from Outer Space is the type of film that was made in 1978 but looks like it’s from 1963. It combines the acting prowess of Roddy McDowell and BOTH colonels from M*A*S*H* (Harry Morgan and McLean Stevenson). It also has an alien named Jake. Jake looks like a cat, but I assure you he’s from outer space. In fact, he has a flying saucer. He also communicates telepathically and can move things with his mind via a super high-tech collar that amplifies his brainwaves. The only plot hole in this gem of a film is the fact that Jake and his alien race could never have built the aforementioned collar, seeing as how they resemble Earth cats in every way, and therefore have no thumbs to build tools. Despite this oversight, Jake is an ideal anthropomorphic creature; he is played by an actual animal, he speaks directly to humans, and he is able to impart useful wisdom to his bumbling Earth friends…he probably still has to poop in a box, though.
Every time you watch Babe, you find yourself screaming “OMG! I LOVE BAAAABE!”. That’s because everybody loves Babe. If you don’t love Babe, then it’s because you haven’t seen Babe. If that’s the case, go watch Baberight now. Babe, of course, is an adorable talking pig who herds sheep. A sheep pig, if you will. Babe avoids being slaughtered by using his combined child-like wonder and spunk, and he befriends all the other talking animals on his farm (including some singing mice) who aren’t on this list because Babe is way cuter than all of them. Babe also goes on to help Farmer Hoggett win a sheep herding competition, which is apparently a real thing that you can win. To top it all off, Babe has a very human-like tuft of hair at the top of his little piggy head. When it comes to anthropomorphic creatures, it doesn’t get any cuter than Babe the Pig.
Somehow, filmmakers are able to turn this bizarre and unruly creature into a money machine. I’m not sure if they use computer graphics or puppetry, or just rigorous training, but somehow Matthew McConaughey is able to speak, move, and even be charming in dozens of films, just like a normal human being would. I’m not sure if he has a trainer, or if production crews are able to coax him into acting by using treats just off camera. After hours of research, I’m at a loss. However, I can confirm that Matthew McConaughey lives in a cave hollowed out of a mountain made of the money he’s accumulated from the movie industry, and I assume this is where he goes to crack open the bones of his felled prey for their marrow, and paint animals on the walls to commune with the spirit realm. Anyway, good for him.
