RGH's Blog

This is my first attempt at blogging. Today, inspiration to write and share information shot through my mind like a rocket. Racing home, I commenced this process. My hope is to create value for you and me.

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Friday, September 30, 2005

The Worst Picks for 10/1 and 10/2

This is for entertainment purposes only. Trust me. Do not use these. If you think that Mike Greenberg's picks are bad, try mine.

Here we go for the Big 10 and NFL football picks:

Big 10:
1) Indiana beats Wisconsin at Wisconsin for their 3rd victory in a row against the badgers.
2) Michigan State beats Michigan. Battle for the state. Who cares.
3) Penn State beats Minnesota. Joe Pa wins a close one.
4) Ohio State will not lose. This one's for you Rol.
5) Notre Dame beats Purdue. Coach Weis is a class act.
6) Iowa beats Illinois. Who can't beat Illinois?
&. Northwestern will not lose. This is a sure thing.

NFL
1) Bengals over the Titans: Who Dey, Who Dey?
2) Broncos beat the Jaguars
3) Patriots beat the Chargers
4) San Antonio Saints beat the Bills.
5) Rams beat the Giants.
6) Tampa Bay Bucs beat the Lions.
7) Colts destroy the Titans. 63-10
8) Redskins beat the Seahawks.
9) Jets over the Ravens. Close one. 3 to 0.
10) Falcons big over Vikings.
11) Chiefs in a tight one over the Eagles.
12) Cowboys beat the Raiders. (These two are for Mark.)
13) 49ers at the Cardinals. (They have to play in Mexico to get a crowd.)
14) Panthers beat the Packers.

Baseball
New York and Cleveland will be in the playoffs.

So far, in this blog, I am undefeated. Use these picks for what they are worth.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

My Name is Earl

TV Show Greetings:

Karma is an amazing thing. According to the new commedy, My Name is Earl, Karma is when you do good things and good things happen. If you do bad things then they come back and haunt you. Earl is tired of bad things happening to him and is convinced that they occur because he is a bad guy. To rectify the situation, Earl has made a list of everybody he has wronged and is out to make it up to all these people.

Karma, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, is the force generated by a person's actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person's next existence. I'm not sure if Earl has totally thought this one out but he is only a TV character.

Does a form of karma exist in this world? I tend to think that it does. I'm not saying that bad things happen to only bad people. Unfortunately, life doesn't play that way. However, if you are thinking with a positive mental attitude, you can persevere through many hardships. If you try to do good things then you often are rewarded some way in life.

It would be interesting to do a test. How many good things can you do in one month and how are you rewarded? You could also be like Earl and make a list of your wrongs and try to make them right. What could happen?

It's late and I'm beginning to ramble. Let me know what you think. I'm always interested in reading comments. If you like my writing, I would appreciate you sending this to a friend.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Link

Monday, September 26, 2005

Increasing Productivity Marginally

Time Starved Greetings:

What would you do with one extra hour per day? I constantly ask that question to myself. My answer is usually solve the world's problems or get that extra hour of sleep. Too bad, we only have 24 of them. (440 minutes)

We are all too busy. I know I am. I know you are. (By the way, thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Hopefully, you are finding value.) Increasing our productivity even takes time because you have to learn the secrets on it. (Or at least get the self help tapes to listen to in the car on the way to whatever we do.)

There are some quick ways to increase productivity. I think a lot of it lies in increasing productivity marginally. Simple, consistent and easy steps sometimes wins the race against drastic changes. (That's what an old turtle once told me. Hey, he beat the rabbit.)

In an earlier blog, we spoke of the power of making one extra phone call. What if we took that idea and expanded it to other areas of our lives? Dr. Stephen Covey often asks us to think about that one little thing that if we did it on a consistent basis would improve our lives. What is it in yours? Why aren't you doing it? (I am asking myself the same thing and it usually comes back to exercising more or watching less TV.)

It's really working the margins of our lives and time. Doing that one little thing will make a difference.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

p.s. If you are finding this blog valuable, I would be honored if you would e-mail it to a friend. You can do this by clicking on that little envelope at the bottom of the posting.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Apocalyptic Signs

On top of the world greetings!

My Cincinnati Bengals and Indiana Hoosiers are now a perfect 3 and o in football. Three wins and zero losses. Usually, it's a perfect 0 and 3 at this point. I'm not saying that we should be nervous or anything but I think this is mentioned in the bible some place.

Oh, to be dreaming of the Super Bowl and the Rose Bowl at this point of the year. Who could imagine! :)

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

PS The Bengals are usually so pathetic that when I ran spell check for this posting their nickname the bungles was the number one choice.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

The Complimenting Commenter

Complimenting Greetings:

I thought some of my readers might be interested the link to the Complimenting Commenter. (Just click on the title.) It is a pretty cool blog with a novel concept of promoting compliments. Talk about being a positive influence!

So much of the time we are bombarded by negative influences. Especially from the media. We are conditioned to be critical and skeptical; to always look for the dark side of an issue. It is nice to promote positive influences.

On a similar note: Did anyone see Trump last night? It was the season premier and the men were pitted against the women. One of the women was very negative and complained about everything. She also tried to take credit for everything while putting others down. Everybody on her team turned against her and ofcourse she was fired. I don't like to see people get fired but it was nice to see that this form of negativity was not going to be tolerated by her team.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Link

Have Lunch with Miss Universe

Autumnal Greetings:

An american man is 33% more likely to develop prostate cancer than an american woman is to develop breast cancer. 1 in 6 men will develop prostate cancer. My father passed away from prostate cancer.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation, www.prostatecancerfoundation.org, is having a fundraiser where they are auctioning items off on e-bay. Items include lunch with Miss Universe (click on the title for the link), a signed guitar by BB King, a signed guitar from Melissa Ethridge, internships at Entertainment Weekly and deluxe hotel accomodations.

I just checked and there are some amazing deals at this auction. Please consider participating and giving to this wonderful organization.

On a lighter note, the answer to the last pop quiz is: Richie Cunningham's older brother's name on Happy Days was Chuck.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Link

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

The Endless Summer

End of Summer Greetings:

The Endless Summer is a great documentary that was made in 1966 about two surfers who traverse the world searching for the perfect wave. If you click on the title you can read the reviews at Amazon. Great movie to watch on a lazy day.

It has been an unforgettable summer and at times it did seem endless. Unfortunately, not all in a good way. Fortunately, this blog has been a good outlet for me and I thank you all for taking the time to read. I am looking forward to Autumn, the opportunities that it holds and sharing them with you.

"Sunset is an angel weeping, holding out her bloody sword" - Bruce Cockburn, Pacing the Cage. This seems appropriate as summer passes into autumn.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Link

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

A simple success secret

Nearly autumnal greetings:

It works. It really does. How do you build a network? How do you get ahead?

The business world
Politics
MLM or network marketing
life
sports
academia

One of the big secrets is helping others to succeed. Assist someone in making their goals. I've seen it so many times that it's ridiculous. Most successful people will tell you that the reason they got to where they were was because they recieved help from someone else.

Do you want to know something else? They return the favor a couple of times over. They look out for the person who helped them. They also will find someone else who needs their help and help them.

It happened to me early on. A friend saw that I was going down the wrong career path and pointed me in the right direction. Not only do I try to help my friend out whenever possible but I know someday I'll help someone else who is making the same mistake I made.

It is such a simple area to expand your influence and your network. Find out what someone else wants and help them get it.

Pop quiz answer: If anybody was wondering, Gilligan's first name on Gilligan's Island is Willy! This next pop quiz question is: What was Richie Cunningham's older brother's name on Happy Days?

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Sunday, September 18, 2005

JFK was never more correct

Almost autumnal greetings:

“May you live in interesting times” is an old Chinese curse I have been told. We must all be cursed because we are certainly living in interesting times. New Orleans has been blown away. The US deficit is out of control. At least two wars are being fought by our country. Oil and therefore fuel prices are out of control with winter barreling toward us. Scandals are all around us.

“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country” stated President Kennedy during his inaugural address in 1961. This rallying cry rings true 44 years later. The country needs you and the world needs you. Yes, you. You can make a difference.

I was having lunch with a friend of mine the other day. We were talking about two successful businessmen that we know. He reminded me that one of the reasons that they are successful is that they give back to their community. They are involved. They are making a difference in the lives of people they don’t even know because they care. They take time out from their busy schedules because they feel it is important and their civic responsibility as citizens.

What are you doing to give back to the community? What organizations are important to you? Are you involved in anything? If not, I challenge you to get involved. Don’t have time? Can you spare a half hour per week? It’s only 2% of one day as we learned in an earlier message.

Remember, we live in interesting times. We need creative solutions. We need you.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Burning Observation

One of my kids, doesn't like his food to be burned. He inspects his food each meal for burn. Tonight, we had burgers. He inspected. He said "Dad, this burger has burn on it." I tried to be smart. "No it doesn't, that's seasoning that you see." He looked at me and said "Dad, if it looks like burn and tastes like burn, it's burn." Smart kid.

Don't let someone elses marketing techniques fool you.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

A lifetime

Rainy Greetings:

77.6 years is the average life expectancy according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. That is roughly 28,324 days or 679,776 hours in which to spend your time here. (Before moving on to other things, I hope.)

One day has 1,440 minutes in it. If you spent just 1% of that thinking, planning, or studying, what could you accomplish? That's less than 15 minutes per day.

Exercising for 30 minutes a day only takes 2.1% of your day.

Just thought that I would share these with you. Also, it's sometimes interesting how coincidences happen. The life expectancy issue came up in a discussion with some friends this weekend. The minutes issue came up by reading a chapter tonight in Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. It's funny because I had never looked at time like this before.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Link

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Pop Quiz (sorry for not putting it in the last post)

Answer to the previous pop quiz: Ginger's last name was Grant on the show Gilligan's Island.

Today's pop quiz: (I promise that this will be the last one in relation to Gilligan's Island. I've run out of them.) What was Gilligan's first name on the show Gilligan's Island. (Hint: it isn't Gilligan!)

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Prodigious

Greetings:

Prodigious is the word of the day according to the Merriam - Webster dictionary. I thought that I would add the Merriam - Webster website to my links because a dictionary is a great resource and is somewhat underutilized in today's world. A thesaurus is also attached to the website. These are two great tools to utilize in your business tool belt.

Isn't the internet great? It certainly is prodigious.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Link

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Two inspirations

"Once you have reached the mountaintop, don't stop! Until every hungry person in the world is fed; every crying person is comforted; every depressed person has cause to smile again; every discouraged person is encouraged; and every lethargic person is motiviated-- don't stop possibilitizing...

Now you have a powerbase. Use it! Now you have influence. Wield it! Now you have success. Share it! On the peak catch a peek-- a new vision, a new dream, a loftier goal! Don't stop at the top" - Robert Schuller, Hours of Power, 2004

Positive thinking is lacking in today's society. It is easy to get down on yourself. It appears to me that successful people find ways to motivate themselves, think of possibilities instead of problems, and find positive messages. I find Schuller to be a very positive influence and a great motivator. Thought I would share one of his messages with you.

"You don't always get what you want... but if you try some time, you just might find, you get what you need!" - The Rolling Stones. This is one of the best lines ever written in a rock song and it applied today to me. I was down in the dumps this evening thinking about my father who recently passed away. Then, I got a message from someone who basically said keep your head up and keep doing what I was doing. It made my day.

Pop quiz time: Mary Ann's last name, from Gilligan's Island, is Summers. Can anyone tell me Ginger's last name?

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Monday, September 12, 2005

Making life easy for your customers!

September Greetings:

Why do companies make it difficult to do business with them? Why is it sometimes difficult to pay a company for their product? Doesn't this contradict everything we know about customer service?

Recently, I had to purchase clothes for an unexpected presentation that I had to make. My friends told me where to shop and told me that I would love this particular department store. It was going to be simple! All I had to do was buy a dress shirt, dress pants, and shoes.

Pretending to be the professional retail shopper, I proceed into the store. (No salesperson to be found.) Quickly, I locate the men's department and decide upon a shirt and pants. The shoe department is next. Studying the poor selection of dress shoes, I find a pair that would suffice. (I'm feeling pretty good about this since I was shopping by myself.)

I then proceed to wait in line to pay for all of my items in the shoe department. I wait. I wait some more. Finally, it's my turn! I plop my goods on the counter and whip out the credit card. I am then told that I can only pay for my shoes at that counter. The rest of my purchases would have to be done with the front cashiers. I ask if I can pay for the shoes up front and the woman says no.

I argue. I lose. I go to the front. Again, I wait. Again, I wait some more.

Finally, once again, it's my turn! The woman asks if I found everything. I ask her if they have handkerchiefs. She replies that they do but I would have to go to the back of the store to get them. I reply that they aren't necessary. I then make my second transaction at the store and leave.

Guess what? I didn't enjoy the store because they made it too complicated for me to buy anything. I'm not going back there. Ever.

No matter what your line of business, whether you are in retail, mlm, professional services or any other business, please make it easy for your customers to purchase from you. It will keep them happy and coming back which means more revenue for you!

Pop Quiz Time: As we follow the Gilligan's Island theme, what was Mary Ann's last name on the show? The answer to the last pop quiz is: Roy Hinkley! By the way, someone actually knew the Skipper's name.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Sunday, September 11, 2005

How I spent 9/11/2005

Greetings on this day of remembrance:

Last night, I fell asleep underneath the September sky. The stars in heaven were twinkling as I drifted off to sleep. This morning I awoke, my family near me and safe. I knew what day it was though. We went to the lodge for breakfast with some friends. My friend commented that camping had relaxed him so much that he had forgotten that it was September 11.

Four years ago was the day of terror that so many American's will never forget. I can't forget being at the airport trying to figure out what was going on. Running around getting people out. Trying to decipher fact from fiction. Trying to save a business. My family wanting me to be home with them while I was just trying to do my job. Finally, coming home and getting a chance to watch the horrific things that transpired that day.

Today, all was calm. We were on canoes and kayaks this morning without a care in the world. Tonight, I will fall asleep in my own bed. Safe.

It was a scary day four years ago. Confusion and Chaos reigned. Today, I sense that America is better and stronger than it was four years ago. We will not let our freedoms disappear and I know that we will not let those who try to terrorize have the upper hand.

Work your businesses extra hard this week. Love your friends and family even harder. Let's show those sob terrorists that they will not and can not win.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Thursday, September 08, 2005

What's new? Evolving Guerrila Marketing

Greetings:

One of the first business books that totally inspired me was Gurrilla Marketing completely revised and updated for the '90s by Jay Conrad Levinson. (Thank you Bill Schoolman!) I was just flipping through the pages of it and a statistic struck me. According to the book, which was published in 1993, VCR penetration was nearing 80%. He concluded that this adds to the attractiveness of video brochures. I think in 1993 that was a pretty big deal.

Guess what? Internet access in 2004 according to website optimization, www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/0403/, is at nearly 75%. Broadband access is considered to be around 50% with market saturation at 75% according to John Dvorak's column in CBS Marketwatch that was posted today.

A little over ten years, we were recording TV shows and watching movies through the VCR. Today, 1/2 of us can watch streaming video on our computers. Most of us are getting digital cable with the DVR function. Forget the video brochure, we are sending video over the internet to the person's workstation.

It's amazing what can change in just 10 years. If you think about it, in just 5 years technology changes.

How will your marketing and business evolve?

Pop quiz time: The answer to the last trivia question is Jonas Grumby was the name of the Skipper on Gilligan's Island. (It was in the New York Times article that I posted.) Does anyone know the Professor's name? Feel free to post your answer.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Customer Service snafus

Potentially stormy greetings:

Four great stories that I have heard in the last few days:

1) A consultant told me that he was given a notepad by a printer promoting themselves. The problem was that the printer's phone number and address were missing from the notepad.

2) An ad was placed with the wrong toll free number. (The company had to go out and get the toll free number that they erroneously printed.)

3) A friend refinanced their mortgage with the same company but different divisions of the company. It took him five phone calls, one hour on hold, two people saying that it wasn't their problem, and two battles with automated voices before finally resolving the issue.

4) A company invented the perfect dog food. Rich in nutrients and cheaper then the competitors. The problem: Dogs didn't like it.

Just thought I'd share these with you. Mistakes can sometimes happen. Even the best do it. It's how you recover that is important.

POP QUIZ TIME: What was the character Skipper's (From Gilligan's Island) first and last name on the show? We are looking for the character's first and last name not the actor's.

Anwer will be posted in a future blog! Hint: It can be found in a prior blog as well!

Have a fruitful day!

RGH

Sad entertainment news

Sad tropical greetings tonight:

Bob Denver, best known as Gilligan, passed away on Friday.

Rest in peace, little buddy.

www.bobdenver.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/07/arts/television/07denver.html

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Can't wear white anymore!

Just a reminder, it's after Labor Day so you can't wear white anymore! It's time to put away your white shoes and belts. White hats should go to. I guess Mother Nature will be covering everything in white soon enough anyway.

Seriously though, I'm a firm believer that people still pay attention to how the product looks. This goes for how you look as well when you are presenting yourself. If you want a million dollars, you'd better look like a million bucks. Little things make a difference and someone will buy from someone who looks the part.

According to the book Swim with the Sharks by Harvey Mackay, Lou Holtz pays a lot of attention to how his team dresses on game day. He says the players will line up in front of the bus before loading. They are all wearing coats and ties as directed. They wait and wait. Finally, Holtz walks up. Inspects his players, doesn't say a thing. If everything looks excellent, he nods to the bus driver who opens up the door and lets the players in. Why does he do this? It's because the players represent the school!

Who do you represent? Be proud of it and look your best. Your customers will thank you for it.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Monday, September 05, 2005

First Hand Katrina Accounts

I was surfing and found this blog. It is amazing.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Link

Your cat ate my hermit crab!

End of Summer Greetings:

The internet is very similar to nature with the hunters and the hunted. Predators lurk around every corner and the terrible thing is that your customers know this. Consumers don't want to put their computers at risk yet they crave the simplicity that online shopping allows. Consumer skepticism is naturally high though due to the risk of becoming prey to a big bad predator!

If you have a website that sells products or services it's vital that you provide consumers with the confidence to shop on your website. The book Call to Action: Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results by Bryan Eisenberg and Jeffrey Eisenberg suggests that we "add 3rd party reinforcement messages. VeriSign, BBB or logos of credit cards have either greatly boosted conversion rates or keeps them neutral. In other words, they never hurt."

One company, ScanAlert ( www.scanalert.com ), will audit your website daily and certify that it is safe from hackers. They then provide you with a certificate that you insert onto your home page. It is claimed that this certificate has increased online purchasing by over 10% for companies that have gotten this certification. You can check out this certificate at www.airportexpress.com , www.berries.com , and www.primetimeshuttle.com . (By the way, both Airport Express and PrimeTime Shuttle are members of a cool organization called GroundNet (www.groundnet.com))

Providing your customers with a safe environment for their transactions is vital in today's world. Predators are out there and consumers are wary. It's important for the survival of our businesses that we protect them. It's kind of like trying to protect your kids hermit crab from the neighbor's cat. (Another story for another time!)

Have a fruitful day,

RGH

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Big in Japan!

Greetings:

This little adventure into the power of blogging is an interesting journey. I am back from a quick vacation and found that it was difficult to write when I was away. I thought it would be the exact opposite. At least I have some stories to tell and hopefully I will be able to get them all down on paper.

An important aspect in life is to continue learning. I am a very curious person and am always trying to find new information. I'm often a news junkie with a bent towards business and politics. However, I love little bits of trivial information.

For instance, I was looking at some statistics from people who have visited my blog. Yes, there are a few of you out there. I discovered that one person from a Japanese search engine found my blog! They were doing a search on grizzly bears... Isn't that awesome?

What does this mean? I have reached someone across Mother Earth! If you are this person, thank you for making my day!

It also means that by putting yourself out there and networking, you will reach people you never thought possible. Opportunities can open up that were not there before! Keep telling your story and someone will hear it. Even if it was an accident.

On another note, this has been a tough couple of days for many of us. It is tough to be optimisitic when there is so much suffering. Try to keep a positive mental attitude though. Keep looking and we will find opportunities.

Have a fruitful day,

RGH