Don’t you get tired of people whining -

• about how hard their life is?
• about how much everything costs?
• about what the government is doing?
• about how badly they are being treated?
• blah, blah, blah

I’m sick of it.  If you don’t like what’s going on, then here’s a thought – take the initiative and “do something” about it.  Yes, this will require action on your part, but think of the calories you’ll burn in the process.

Ross Training - Plenty of Motivation

If you need a little motivation then watch this great video that I found at Ross Training.  Thanks Ross

That question changes things – doesn’t it?  It kinda complicates your thinking process and makes you focus on what you really want – that’s scary.

Besides, most people don’t know “what they want”.  They are too focused on what they “don’t want”.

• I don’t want to be poor.
• I don’t want to be disrespected.
• I don’t want to be in debt.
• I don’t want to be fat.
• I don’t want to go to work.

Would you dare to pursue your dream if it meant leaving the comfort of mediocrity?

You cannot improve yourself and stay the same.  What will you choose?  And the choice is up to you.

Until you accept the idea that you are responsible for your life – nothing will ever change.  No amount of wishing and hoping or dreaming will change a thing.  Change is the result of decision that is acted upon.

Decide what you want - then get busy.

Would you dare to have more than your friends?

The quick and easy answer is yes, but it’s really not so simple.  You’ve got a lot of time and energy invested in your friendships.  Are you willing to jeapardize that?

Growth changes a person (so many people overlook this obvious fact), which can scare others.  Plus it can make them uncomfortable because they have to ask themselves why and how you were able to achieve your “new” accomplishments.  I mean you’re the same person, right?

Here’s a thought - your income is the average of your five closest friends and associates.  Test it for yourself.

Who determines what is possible?

This is an easy question.  The answer is everyone but you.  Right?

• You can’t help your lot in life.
• You don’t have an education.
• You’re not smart enough.
• You don’t have the time.
• You don’t know where to start.
• You don’t have the “connections”.

We see what we believe is possible

You’ve probably heard the phrase “I’ll believe it when I see it”.  That’s not true.  We “see” what we believe.  If we don’t think a thing is possible, then we won’t believe it - even when we do see it.

Our perception clouds and determines our reality.  As long as you limit yourself with outdated ideas and beliefs, you will never see (or be) anything new.

Keith Barry will make you question what is possible.

What do you believe is possible for you and your life?

Tags: Brain+Power, mediocrity, change

The Rotater is attracting international attention. Two highly respected physicians from the U.K. have contacted us about our shoulder rehab and stretching device and have expressed an interest in distributing the Rotater in the U.K. One of theses physicians ( a distinguished orthopedic surgeon who specializes in shoulder injuries ) has ordered a Rotater for testing and evaluation. We are very excited.

The Rotater Guys go to the NATA conference in St. Louis

(photo used courtesy of merfam)

Scott Kay and I will be in St. Louis ( June 17–21 ) at the America’s Center Convention Center (booth #2242) for the National Athletic Trainer’s Association’s annual convention to demonstrate and answer questions about our shoulder rehab and stretching device – the Rotater. This should be another great opportunity for us to make the sporting world aware of the benefits of stretching your shoulder with the Rotater.

Scott unveiled a very crude prototype of the Rotater at the 2006 NATA annual conference in Atlanta. This initial showing was a viability test for the Rotater. The response of these sports professionals was beyond our wildest dreams and provided the motivation for refining the design, producing a mold and proceeding to mass production.

If you’re coming to the NATA convention or live in the St. Louis area, then please stop by booth #2242 and say hi. I’d love to meet you.

(this is me and Scott at the ACSM conference in Indianapolis)

WordPress Automatic Uprgrade Plugin Saves “Shoulder Performance & Rehab”

After returning from Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago, I started having problems with Blogjet / Wordpress – but only on our blog – Shoulder Performance & Rehab. I sent an inquiry to the support staff at Blogjet ( I love Blogjet and they have very good customer service ) and was informed that I needed to upgrade my WordPress software. Sadly, I was running version 2.02 and had been putting off this dreaded task.

I have done some research into the WordPress Automatic Upgrade Plugin in the past, but was never really convinced that something terrible wouldn’t go wrong and cause me to lose everything. Now I had no choice.

• I down-loaded the WPAU
• I uploaded it to my plugins folder as directed
• I activated the plugin
• WPAU walked me through the entire procedure
• Everything worked perfectly

Ten minutes and I’m done. It was simple, filled with instructions and explanations. If you’ve been putting off a badly needed upgrade, don’t wait any longer. Down-load the plugin and get it over with.

Soupornuts.com is next on the upgrade agenda – if I can just make time to do it.

Tags: WPAU+plugin, NATA, the+Rotater, Shoulder+Performance+&+Rehab

(photo courtesy of saschapohflepp)

Our Shoulder Rehab Device will be at the ACSM Annual Conference

The Rotater and I will be in Indianapolis this week (May 28–31) at the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual conference. The ACSM is the world’s premier sports medicine and exercise science organization.

The ACSM mission statement:

The American College of Sports Medicine promotes and integrates scientific research, education, and practical applications of sports medicine and exercise science to maintain and enhance physical performance, fitness, health, and quality of life.

If you’re anywhere near Indianapolis this week, then please stop at the Rotater booth and say hi. I’d love to hear from you.

Tags: ACSM, American+College+of+Sports+Medicine, the+Rotater, shoulder+rehab+device

(photo courtesy of alessandro pucci)

Hey Television Marketeers: Your days are numbered!

Have you noticed how many commercials there are on television? Is it just me or does they seem to be more frequent – if that is possible? I don’t watch much tv, but what little I do watch seems to interupt the commercials.

How long can this last? With the growth and development of the web, I believe that the current model for advertising on tv is headed for the trashcan. If things don’t change, then people will get their entertainment elsewhere – someplace where they give their permission to hear a sales pitch.

What’s the Point?

If you have a website that markets anything (if you have a website, then you are marketing something, whether it is a product or your ideas), then please pay attention to the following suggestions. Though I can’t speak for eveyone, I believe that a large number of people will agree with me.

• Get rid of your annoying popups that ask me to subscribe to your free newletter or special report – just place it somewhere on your site and I’ll find it – if I want to find it! You don’t have my permission to assault me with ads that block the view of the article that I came to your site to read. Yes, it is your site to do with as you wish, the problem is that I (and many others) won’t be back to see it. By the way, the “catch me if you can” ads that dance across the screen are hard to catch, so I just click on the little “x” in the top right hand corner of the page. Works every time.
• I don’t want or need a flash presentation – I’m sure that some “hotshot” web designer told that it was the latest and greatest thing, but it just slows me down. The web is all about speed, speed, speed. Give it to me quick and dirty. I don’t really care about you – I’m doing research for me!
• If it looks like an ad, then I’m probably not going to read it. Sorry, but I want information. Help me and I’m more likely to help you. Make stopping at your website worth my time.
• Having my email address does not give you permission to bombard me with your “Special Offers” – please use my email information wisely. If I didn’t request it, then I probably don’t want it and I’m not going to open any email that I don’t recognize. P.S. – If everybody would stop opening email from senders that they don’t recognize, then they (spammers) would be forced to stop wasting the time it takes to send them out.

The Take Home Message for Marketers

I realize that you’ve got a job to do. Just understand that the old model of marketing doesn’t fit for the internet. On the internet, it’s all about giving you my permission to present me with your marketing message.

Post current information that is clear and understandable – then I’m much more likely to stay around and look at your other stuff.

(photo courtesy of Tub Gurnard)

I am much more likely to buy something when I’m happy!

Tags: permission+marketing, interuption

What happened to great (or even good) customer service?

• I’m tired of getting my order screwed-up whenever I go through a drive-thru lane
• I’m tired of dealing with any customer service representative who cannot (or will not) take the time to smile at me
• I’m tired of waiting for the “bug” guy or the “cable” guy or anyone else who doesn’t understand how an appointment system works
• I’m tired of these same people (who abuse their appointment system) and their apparent refusal to use a telephone to alert me to their inability to live up to their commitments.

(photo courtesy of Finsec)

Two phrases that I have used within the past couple of months with great results

Within the past couple of months, I have been faced with two serious customer service situations. The first involved poor customer service that had a direct and huge impact on my business. The second situation was personal and involved my mother’s health and well-being.

1. “That’s Not Acceptable”

Back in February, The Birmingham News ran an article ( Industrial Mechanic invents tool to improve shoulder mobility, finds niche in athletics ) about the Rotater. This article resulted in a huge traffic spike to our website which caused it to crash. I wrote about it in an article entitled “The Good Stuff, The Bad Stuff and The Other Stuff”.

A couple of weeks later, this same article was picked up on the newswire and ran in the Ann Arbor Press under the title of “A Shoulder To Lean On”. Great traffic, lot’s or orders, our website crashes again.

(photo courtesy of dboy)

After the initial crash I spent a couple of days researching the source of the problem. I was getting a Wordpress error message whenever I (on anyone else) tried to access Shoulder Performance & Rehab.

Thanks to the great people who take the time to post about situations like this one, I discovered that the hosting service that I was using at that time had a built-in traffic regulator that had tripped due to our large traffic increases.

I called customer service, waited for about an hour and finally spoke with someone who understood that problem. He quickly corrected the problem, but didn’t spend any time informing me about future crashes and what to do.

Shoulder Performance & Rehab Crashes Again

When the article ran again in the Ann Arbor Press, our blog crashed again. No problem I thought ( I was naive ) – I’ll just call customer service again.

This time, when my call was answered (after a hour), I quickly explained the situation thinking that the problem would be quickly remedied. I was wrong. The person who answered the customer service phone was not a customer service rep, but “screener”. She told me that she would take my message and have a “customer service rep” or technician call me in 2 – 4 hours.

Living Personal Growth and Development

In the past, her response would have spurred a tirade of anger from me and would have resulted in me slamming the phone in disgust, but thankfully, I really try to live the stuff that I write about.

I told the “screener” that her answer “was not acceptable”. I think that she was shocked because the phone was silent for several seconds ( you must be willing to wait them out). She tried again to tell me that there was nothing that she could do and I simply responded with “that’s not acceptable”. Again, several seconds of silence – but I waited too.

Wait ‘em out!

Finally (I think it was due to her inability to get rid of me) she called her supervisor. He came on the phone and took care of the problem and explained to me that if my site crashed again then they had the right to cancel my service. I quickly changed my hosting service provider from IPOWERWEB to HOSTGATOR. (I’ve had no problems with HOSTGATOR to date, am very happy with the service and my site seems faster!)

If you are having problems with poor customer service, then I encourage you to use the “that’s not acceptable” response any time that the person that you’re dealing with tries to do something other than your request or provide a reasonable alternative. You must be:

• willing to wait silently while they “digest” your response
• willing to repeat this phrase, because they will attempt to tell you that there is nothing else that they can do
• willing to ask to speak with someone else
• willing to stay completely calm during the whole situation

This phrase has worked for me and it will work for you.

2. “We Are Not Happy”

Last Tuesday (April 29^th), I received a phone call at about midnight telling me that my mother was in the emergency room with severe abdominal pains. I rushed to the hospital and waited with her, my father and my sister for several hours. The emergency room was not busy.

Initial diagnosis

When a physician finally examined my mother, we were told that it appeared to be appendicitis, but they would have to run a CT scan for confirmation. This required my mother to drink some hideous dye solution and the wait three hours for it to make its way down to her intestines.

After the CT scan, we were told that she did not have appendicitis. It “appeared” that she had diverticulitis. The physician said my mother could go home or she could be admitted to the hospital. Either way, she would be treated with antibiotics and high-powered narcotics for the intense pain.

Into the hospital

My mother chose to be admitted to the hospital, which surprised everyone. My mother has the highest pain tolerance of any person that I know. She once took care of my grandmother (following my grandmother’s open heart surgery) for two weeks with a completely separated shoulder. My mother had fallen in the parking lot on the morning of my grandmother’s surgery.

I had the same injury from a skiing accident and I cried like a “little girl” every time I moved.

Too much pain

My mother chose to stay in the hospital because she could not tolerate the pain. We were told that within a couple of days, there should be some improvement. There was no improvement and seemingly no alternative plan.

By Friday, I was livid. The physician was evasive and appeared unwilling to do anything else. My mother’s pain was worse and she was asking for more pain medication every 12 hours.

We are not happy!

Friday afternoon, I had to leave the hospital, but I told my father to speak with the physician and find out what is going on. My father did not feel comfortable “questioning” the doctor’s diagnosis, but I had no problems with it, so I wrote the following on the whiteboad that is mounted on the wall:

1. We Are Not Happy!
2. What is the diagnosis?
3. What tests are scheduled to confirm this diagnosis? why or why not?
4. What are our treatment options?
5. Why is my mother in so much pain?

The physician is indignant

I called my father later that night and was told that the physician had come in during rounds and found my note. He became quite angry but scheduled another CT scan for Saturday morning. Thank God.

The second CT scan found that my mother’s small intestine was obstructed. A surgeon quickly came to see my family and explained that they would try to relieve the pressure on her intestine by pumping my mother’s stomach and lower intestine. If this didn’t work, then she would have to have emergency surgery.

It didn’t work and my mother had emergency surgery on Sunday. The surgeon had to remove about 3 – 4 inches of my mother’s small intestine. The change has been dramatic.

Although she has an eight inch wound, her abdominal pain is gone (except for the new scar).

Don’t be afraid to challenge authority

(photo courtesy of Citizen Mira)

It seems to me that people are willing to accept anything that a person in authority says as gospel. This seems especially true of physicians, clergymen and lawyers. Hey, they are people just like you and I. They overlook things and they make mistakes. Ask for explanations and clarifications.

If someone is being vague, then there is a reason. Call them on it. Your life may depend on it.

Tags: customer+service, web+host+provider, the+Rotater, righteous+indignation

(photo courtesy of andrew mc d)

Sharing is easy while we’re children because we want everyone to enjoy the pleasures that we enjoy. Somewhere along about junior high school, that all changes. We start to exclude others while someone else sees fit to exclude us.

We start to form little cliques like:

• the “cool” kids
• the rich kids
• the gamers
• the freaks
• the jocks
• the nerds
• the suckups
• the slackers

Now that I’m older and look back on my life, I realize just how much of life you miss when you choose to alienate yourself. Why can’t we go back to that childlike innocence and share some of the things that we have?

1. Share you love

(photo courtesy of Noel Zia Lee)

Tell others how much they mean to you. Tell them that you love them. What they do with that knowledge is up to them, but I guarantee that you will feel much better – and so will they.

2. Share your thoughts

(photo courtesy of JasonRogers)

Let people know what you think about – especially your children. You’re a big mystery to your kids.

• They want to know why you do the things that you do.
• They want to know how you do the things you do.
• They want to hear stories of when you were a kid.
• They need to learn how to dream or create goals.

Children have a million thoughts running through their heads everyday and they don’t know that its normal to have that many. Explain everything to them. Answer their questions.

3. Share your opinions

(photo courtesy of Jan Tik)

Tell people what you believe and why. They may challenge your belief system. That’s good. Your views may be antiquated. You may need to revise you ideas or you may need to explain to them why you feel your opinions are correct.

4. Share your wisdom

(photo courtesy of Christina Snyder)

Be a mentor. Find someone and pass your knowledge to them. Help them avoid the pitfalls that you struggled through. Show them how to avoid the ruts in life. You’ll have a friend for life.

5. Share yourself

(photo courtesy of Tony the Misfit)

No person is complete while alone. You need others and they need you. It is when we give of ourselves that we are open to receiving the blessings that life can provide.

Sharing is easy once you get past all the cliques and petty divisions.

Tags: sharing, personal+growth, personal+development, opinions, wisdom

Charles Hannell wrote The Master Key System almost 100 years ago, but his thoughts, teaching and philosophy are timeless. Recently, while studying his work, I came across the statement, “I can be whatever I will to be” and it became stuck in my mind. Kind of like a tune that you just can’t get rid of. The more I thought about it, the more fascinated I became with the simple but profound principles it teaches.

(photo used courtesy of suika*2008)

1. I am responsible for my life

The first thing that becomes clear is that I am responsible for my life. I like that. It is nice to know that I am in control of my destiny. No matter what occurs in the external world, it is only my responses to those events that determine how they affect me.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Paul wrote that back in the first century and to me he is making a great point. He did not say that everything would be good, but that “all things work together for good”. In other words, we, through our responses determine whether a thing is good or not.

If it helps us grow spiritually, then it is good. However it is we who determine whether we choose to grow through our experiences or not.

2. I am what I will to be – not – what I want to be

When I first came across this statement it read kind of funny – funny strange. At first, I attributed it to the fact that the book was written 100 years ago and language has changed somewhat since then. But the more that I thought about it, the more I came to realize that the statement is correct as stated.

“What I want to be” is more about dreams, hopes, wants and wishes. It imposes no responsibility nor decision and requires no dedication nor commitment. It would have no value stated this way.

You get to choose between what you want (hopes) and what you will (unrealized goals) have.

3. …I will to be

“What I will to be” implies power and determination. Say these two statements:

• I am what I want to be
• I am what I will to be

Which statement sounds weak and which sounds powerful? Which statement put you in control?

“I want” sounds like pleading and begging. It reminds me of a child having a temper tantrum, stomping his or her feet and crying because the don’t have something. It bears a very strong resemblance to most people I know. There is no power in wanting.

(photo used courtesy of soldiersmediacenter)

4. The force of will

When a person imposes their will on a thing, then accomplishing that thing becomes a mission – a quest. It is a self-promise that cannot be easily discarded. You can see obvious differences in the person who is on a quest to get into shape and the person who “wants” to get into shape.

A person does not write a “Last Want and Testament” as a preparation for distribution of their assets at death. They have a lawyer compose a “Last Will and Testament”. It becomes the only way that their goods can be disbursed, because that person has “willed” it to be so done.

5. Use this affirmation – as often as possible

“I am what I will to be”. Say it often. Substitute your own desires and see how it affects your life.

• I am what I will to be

• I accomplish what I will to accomplish

• I acquire what I will to acquire

• I create what I will to create

• I learn what I will to learn

• I understand what I will to understand

• I do what I will to do

• I am successful because I will to be successful

Try it for a few days and you’ll begin to understand how powerful your will truly is.

Tags: responsibility, decision, determination, affirmation

Jill Bolte Taylor’s first-person telling of awakening and then slowly realizing that she has had and is having a stroke.  What makes this telling so unique is that Jill is uniquely qualified to articulate this accidental experiment.  It is inspiring and enlightening on so many levels.

Take the time to watch and listen – It may change the way you think about reality – your reality.

Passion can be stirred by a number of different things:

• your beliefs
• your desires
• your dreams
• your experiences

This post is about three women that I’ve had the privilege to come to know since starting this blog. Women whose passion for helping others was ignited by their battle with breast cancer.

(photo courtesy of Andreia)

Cancer is ugly and terrifying – but it can be beaten. Modern medicine has proved that cancer can be beaten by driving the mortality rates of most cancers down. However, those same treatments are severe and take a huge toll on the body and mind.

These three cancer survivors have dedicated their lives to helping others. Here’s how:

Jane Ali and SurvivorCelebration.com

I met Jane at the House of Blues in the Madalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas during a mixer for the participants of the fall PGA expo, this past September (2007). Jane gave a short presentation detailing her then up-coming nation-wide bus tour to promote breast cancer awareness.

My business partner, Scott Kay, and I had been trying to become involved with breast cancer rehabilitation, but really didn’t how or where to start. Thankfully, Jane and her husband A.J. took the time to talk with us and provide us with some direction and suggestions. They also made us aware of their website, SurviviorCelebration.com and encouraged us to create our Pink Rotater.

Since then, A.J. has taken SurvivorCelebration.com and transformed in into an interactive social networking site that provides all the tools a person needs to:

• meet other cancer survivors and patients
• learn from others
• inspire
• be inspired

SurvivorCelebration.com is in its infancy and needs you. Take the time to visit and put up your own page and then tell your friends about it. There is no cost – here’s my page. If you’ve always wanted to get involved, but didn’t know how, then here’s your chance. SurvivorCelebration.com is not just about breast cancer, but about dealing with all forms of cancer. There are a multitude of groups for everyone – take a look and then join today.

Christine Clifford Beckwith and The Cancer Club

I met Christine vicariously through a book that she had co-authored with her husband Harry Beckwith entitled “You, Inc.” While reading this book, I learned of Christine’s battle with breast cancer and more importantly her passion to inspire others through her talent of using comedy to create cartoons that just force you to laugh.

Christine has created The Cancer Club to help cancer patients cope with their situation, inspire others and use laughter to help relieve the constant stress associated with cancer. This website is filled with hope, inspiration, gifts, encouragement, laughter and much more.

Christine provides a monthly newsletter that I subscribe to and encourage you to do so as well. I always learn something new and her cartoons always make me laugh.

(This is one of Christine’s hilarious cartoons.)

Carol Cauthen and Touching You

I had the pleasure of meeting Carol when she read an article about the Rotater in the Birmingham News and contacted me via email. Since then, she has begun to carry the Rotater in her breast cancer boutique on a consignment basis.

Carol is a 21–year survivor of breast cancer. Her passion led to the creation of first her boutique, Touching You and then her website, TouchingYou.com. Touching You is dedicated to the breast cancer survivor and offers a huge variety of products that have been created to deal with their special needs.

Everyone who works for Carol is a breast cancer survivor and therefore knows how to help.

Passion not taken lightly

Many people use the word “passion” carelessly. When you are passionate about something, then you DO something – not discuss it. These three women have used their battle with cancer to become passionate about helping others who face cancer.

What are you that passionate about?

Tags: the+Pink+Rotater, Survivor+Celebration, The+Cancer+Club, Toughing+You, cancer, breast+cancer