How to build a portfolio:

• When starting out, do some work for free to get experience.
• Record important information, such as the dates of the job, parties involved, and your hours worked.
• List the project’s goals, show before and afters, and list your accomplishments during the project.
• Get recommendations from those you worked with.

Keep all this on file, and branch into two versions: one that has every detail of every project and another with just the summary and your accomplishments.

When applying for a position, you will need to tailor your portfolio to the job description. It’s worth it.

Flowers, bees and birdsong wherever you turn.

By Paul Hassing, Founder and Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire.

Miles and Judy Oldmeadow are both keen gardeners. Everywhere you look there are plantings of some description.

And the varied, thriving bird life has to be seen (and heard) to be believed.

Jude is fastidious about making her guests comfortable when they visit their horses.

I found this posie, freshly picked from the house garden, in the bathroom when I came to stay.

Those who can be trusted in small things, can be trusted in great things.

Next to it was a gorgeous cake of hand-made soap from a local producer. 

Small touches like this leave you in no doubt that your hosts think and care a lot about what they’re doing.

From what I’ve seen so far, this unerring attention to detail pervades every task (horse-related and otherwise) right up to the big-ticket items.

And continuing our theme of excellence this week, words almost fail at this (a non-video for a change!)

http://shorttermmemoryloss.com/menace/

If any readers have created awesome projects like this, please let us know.

Exclusive Products, Branded Goods and Elite Properties are extremely desired, universally dreamt and frequently celebrated overall by the large majority of people who cannot afford to buy them. Luxury cars and designer clothes are crafted and developed overall to distinguish as extremely affluent and as deeply influent the few chosen people from the social elite who can easily purchase and consume them. The main purpose of a unique sport car and the first role of a branded item of design are to show how rich and important their owner is, compared to the mass of ordinary people who can just admire and imagine these prohibitively expensive status-simbols.

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Whole countries have built large sectors of their economy on the cult of beautiful jewels, exotic excellence, luxurious elegance and exclusive elitism, bestown and represented with rare products in the realms of fashion, perfumes and automotive. Obviously the cult surrounding these products trespasses the small group of people who actually buy them; likewise, the market of the replicas (legal or licenced), is a florid and global source of profit, trade and debate. We have collected some valuable sites from the http://www.t-h-e-n-e-w.com and http://www.euroserve.cn ( with http://www.esw3.eu dns services ) networks discussing about elite products. Other Journals about Wealth and Status are available in the same portfolio.

References:
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There are a number of characteristics that build a brand. Seiko UK Limited is a subsidiary of Seiko Watch Corporation set up in Tokyo, Japan in 1881 and has been producing exceptional watches for many years. Seiko has many good characteristics which would all suggest why it has achieved so much success, but the three most important ones are discussed below.

1) Personality – Possibly the most important characteristic of the lot. Seiko has its own individual style that helps to give its brand its own personality and individuality. The founder of Seiko, Kintaro Hattori has a simple motto. “Never look back, look forward, step forward even if only half a step at a time, knowing how to be flexible in order to accept changes, be sincere.” This motto has kept the company striving for excellence at all times, and has forced the company to head in the right direction. They can maintain a personality that strives for newness all the time and bring new products to market. Consumers will always have new products to buy and be happy to buy them.

2) Style – Seiko has a very distinctive style that surrounds its watches. In a world where the majority of consumers that can afford watches go to work, Seiko have designed their watches to fit in with this trend. Many of the watches Seiko stock are targeted towards professionals. Some of these watches are Seiko men’s watches and some are Seiko ladies watches. Again, in line with the professional image they wish to sell, many of their watches are finished with a stainless steel strap, a titanium strap or a gold-plated strap, all of which look exquisite. Whilst Seiko obviously make very nice watches, there is always room for improvement and as the company motto states, half a step forward is always a good thing.

3) Quality – Seiko is renowned across the world for its excellent quality in watches. If consumers ever wanted a watch that offered reliability, then Seiko would be it. Quality can mean a lot to consumers and is an extremely important element when deciding what brand of watch to buy. This is because buying a watch is not an every day purchase, and therefore most people take a while to choose the watch they want. It would need to work for many years and Seiko has built up a reputation for having extremely reliable watches. If consumers ever wanted a watch that offered reliability, then Seiko would be it.

There are other elements too which are important in discussing why Seiko has achieved so much success but these are essentially the most important ones. The only thing Seiko need to do now is keep doing what they are doing. Take half a step forward any time they can and continue to strive for excellence.

From The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner.

“Michael Jung. . . believes that ‘there are only three reasons why people work or learn. There’s push, which is a need, threat or risk, but this is now a less plausible or credible motivating force [in the industrialized countries] than it has been, even for the disadvantaged. There’s transfer of habits—habits shaped by social norms and traditional routines. But this, too, is becoming weaker now, because of the erosion of traditional authority and social values. That leaves only pull—interest, desire, passion.’ I understand Jung to be talking about three kinds of human motivation. Physiological need is one—the need for food and shelter and so on. But he suggests that with high rates of employment and government safety nets, this is less of a motivational force in many young people’s lives than it once was. The desire to adhere to social norms is another human motivation that is weaker than it used to be, because traditional sources of authority, religion and family, have less influence on young people today. Jung believes that it is the third motivational force—interest, desire, and passion—that increasing numbers of young people are seeking and responding to in school and at the workplace.”

We tend to be products of our environments so I wouldn’t describe the transfer of habits/adherence to social norms argument quite like Jung and Wagner. The influence of significant others, for better or worse, is still there. My clearest childhood memories of my dad are of him pacing the house as he memorized his sales presentations.  Five or six at the time, the impact was indelible. Every family has momentum, whether positive or negative. Because of my parents, ours was positive which is not synonymous with perfect. If a critical mass of adults in a young person’s life aren’t working and planning for a better future, we can’t expect that young person to care much about school work, continuing their education, or making a positive difference in the world.

If we agree that young people are mostly motivated by interest, desire, and passion, as I’m inclinded to do, we need to rethink teaching, coaching, and parenting. In his book, Wagner tells Kate’s story, a senior in high school. “Kate suffered from too much of the wrong kind of adult authority,” Wagner writes. “She was overmanaged for success—success being narrowly defined as getting into a college her parents and teachers considered to be top-notch and having a high paying job.”

What good are high standardized test scores and good grades if a student lacks specific interests, desires, and passion? What if they learn to “do school” but fail to become passionate about anything?

The seventeen and eighteen year-olds that I know are striving to get into the best colleges possible. But what makes one college better than another? US News and Report offers pseudo-empirical answers based upon numbers colleges get good at manipulating, but there’s more art to educational excellence than science. Maybe the best college is the one where faculty and staff help students discover their interests and desires. They advise and teach passionately; consequently, students become more passionate about writing, or a language, a culture, an environmental challenge, a historical period, a social movement, global politics, law, or medicine. I’d like to see USN&R measure staff and faculty passion for advising and teaching.

If I did a focus group with my daughter and her twelfth grade friends, I suspect all of them could identify things they like, but only a few could explain in any detail what they are most passionate about and why. And surely those few that are ahead of the curve need guidance on how to turn their passions into purposeful vocations. My wish for my daughter and her friends is that over the next four or five years they become more passionate and begin translating their passions into meaningful, rewarding work.

The life and times of Edouard Heuer was a span of aspiration towards excellence and superb performance in the form of precision design, and unmatched quality. He began the company in 1860 in his country which was Switzerland. The Heuer watch making company spent many years with success in those aspirations. A century and a quarter later (1985) they were brought into the sleek sporty lines of TAG (Techniques d’Avant Garde).

TAG is world renowned for designing and manufacturing components for Formula One race cars. With this sleek international racing environment comes a smooth sports-car appearance. TAG Heuer watches are made with this unique styling yet still of the unmatched quality and design this company has produced for many years. With the look of the TAG Heuer watch on your wrist, you can dive into deep water and still see what time it is at 650 feet. Whether you are worried about the time or not; your watch functions for you.

Motor sports among others have been in the Heuer history for many years, even before TAG became a part of the picture. In 1916 Heuer released a stopwatch that had 1/100th of a second accuracy. This amazed the world at the time. In 1920 they went on to play a role in the Olympic Games.

The 1971 movie “Le Mans” sported a TAG Heuer watch on the legend Steve Mc Queen’s wrist. TAG Heuer provided the official time keeping for the Indy 500 racing event until 2003. TAG Heuer was also the first Swiss watch to orbit earth. The years have brought TAG Heuer into many arenas as a leader in the Swiss Watch genre.

The list of those that wear the TAG Heuer Watch is huge though among the sporty embassadors of TAG Heuer includes NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, and PGA Golfer Tiger Woods. In fact Tiger Woods helped TAG Heuer design the very first professional golf watch.

When purchasing a top of the line anything you should be aware there are many frauds or bootlegs out there as many call them. When purchasing your TAG Heuer watch, take extra precaution to be sure you are in fact receiving an authentic TAG Heuer watch and not a counterfeit.

Another aspect to consider would be making sure you have reasonable access to repair and maintenance for your TAG Heuer Watch. As with any expensive timepiece, it’s wise to have it services annually to enjoy longevity of your prized TAG Heuer Watch. Prevention is what the doctor ordered for your expensive TAG Heuer Watch.

When considering buying a pre-owned TAG Heuer watch, be extra careful though it may be necessary for a particular model and year. It’s wise to research and confirm everything. Auctions (especially online) aren’t perfect at authenticating what is sold. In fact when it comes to online, they never handle the merchandise so it’s near impossible.

In the end, if you like sporty and sleek, the TAG Heuer Watch is a choice you must see. With one on your wrist, you may never be the same.

So what’s your take on this? Is Tag a name brand watch [http://www.bestmenswatch.com/name-brand-watch.php] that appeals to you? For some great information on a wide range of mens and womens watches make sure you check out http://www.bestmenswatch.com Benjamin totally recommends this site so check it out today!

There are a number of characteristics that build a brand. Seiko UK Limited is a subsidiary of Seiko Watch Corporation set up in Tokyo, Japan in 1881 and has been producing exceptional watches for many years. Seiko has many good characteristics which would all suggest why it has achieved so much success, but the three most important ones are discussed below.

1) Personality – Possibly the most important characteristic of the lot. Seiko has its own individual style that helps to give its brand its own personality and individuality. The founder of Seiko, Kintaro Hattori has a simple motto. “Never look back, look forward, step forward even if only half a step at a time, knowing how to be flexible in order to accept changes, be sincere.” This motto has kept the company striving for excellence at all times, and has forced the company to head in the right direction. They can maintain a personality that strives for newness all the time and bring new products to market. Consumers will always have new products to buy and be happy to buy them.

2) Style – Seiko has a very distinctive style that surrounds its watches. In a world where the majority of consumers that can afford watches go to work, Seiko have designed their watches to fit in with this trend. Many of the watches Seiko stock are targeted towards professionals. Some of these watches are Seiko men’s watches and some are Seiko ladies watches. Again, in line with the professional image they wish to sell, many of their watches are finished with a stainless steel strap, a titanium strap or a gold-plated strap, all of which look exquisite. Whilst Seiko obviously make very nice watches, there is always room for improvement and as the company motto states, half a step forward is always a good thing.

3) Quality – Seiko is renowned across the world for its excellent quality in watches. If consumers ever wanted a watch that offered reliability, then Seiko would be it. Quality can mean a lot to consumers and is an extremely important element when deciding what brand of watch to buy. This is because buying a watch is not an every day purchase, and therefore most people take a while to choose the watch they want. It would need to work for many years and Seiko has built up a reputation for having extremely reliable watches. If consumers ever wanted a watch that offered reliability, then Seiko would be it.

There are other elements too which are important in discussing why Seiko has achieved so much success but these are essentially the most important ones. The only thing Seiko need to do now is keep doing what they are doing. Take half a step forward any time they can and continue to strive for excellence.

Moving away from yesterday’s listening but keeping with the rhythm, here is some more excellence on show:

http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_moschen_juggles_rhythm_and_motion.html

Something crucial I learnt while my Postgraduate diploma was setting the right expectations for your team members for them to perform well and achieve your objectives.

I completely agree to the part of setting expectations which I have practiced and achieved results. But at the same time there is an additional force you need to get team members to perform as expected. This is ability of a leader to motivate, encourage team members to continuously perform par excellence.

I think the team members who aren’t self motivated or doesn’t value accountability cannot perform even after laying right expectations in front of them. Thus, the game of expectations allows leaders to manage out the undesirable team members. Rest of the team simply needs direction, little encouragement, and appreciation for their efforts.

Warmly dressed for the November wind and rain, my husband and I set out for Seattle Saturday, with the joyful mission/distraction of procuring spices, tea, and perhaps a Japanese teacup, one without a handle, that I could hold comfortably. The happy agenda included Uwajimaya, a massive Asian grocery and gift complex in the International District; World Spice, and, if necessary, Market Spice, the holiday hub of the human hive known as Pike Place Market.

I am much worse than a kid in a toy store in places that have Olympic-size displays of tea and tea-making things.  I am much worse because, unlike the kid in a toy store, I have the awesome power of VISA. Fortunately, World Spice does not accept credit cards, and we carry little cash, and so my passion was providentially constrained for the good. The good in this case was the serendipitous discovery of a new tea shop, and this one does except VISA.

But I don’t buy everything I see. Tea is a discipline, and it would be obscene to be undisciplined in procuring the stuff of a discipline. Decency and discipline are essential elements of proper tea acquisition, preparation, and consumption.

As we walked from our car to World Spice, I noticed a new storefront along Western Avenue. Vital T-Leaf has been there over a year, but I’ve not been in that part of town in a long time, so the shop was new to me. Their sign was certainly inviting: “Free Tea Tasting.” The offer was beyond resistance, and we decided to continue to World Spice and stop at Vital T-Leaf on our way back.

World Spice was packed with Saturday shoppers, and efficient, friendly order takers were employed to full capacity. Once you know what you want, you stand in line, recite your order to one of the efficient, friendly order takers, and wait to pick it up. Spices are upstairs, and teas are downstairs. I hadn’t been to the shop in several years, and I didn’t remember to go downstairs and look at the tea selection before I placed our spice order so that I could present my full order for tea and spices at one time.

An efficient, friendly order taker downstairs let us know that the line was backing up, and hoped that we could give him our tea order soon. Feeling a little rushed, I became overstimulated and my brain froze. I selected two smoky tea varieties and relayed them to the efficient, friendly downstairs order taker. Then I had to go back upstairs for ginger that I had thought, since I planned to add it to a black tea blend, would be down with the tea, but it was up with the spices. I met with another upstairs efficient, friendly order taker to request the ginger. After reciting three orders at mind-numbing speed to three efficient, friendly order takers, we secured our collection of spices and teas, handed over all the cash we had, and retreated from all the efficient friendliness into the halcyon bracing cold.

Now I was ready to taste some tea. We entered Vital T-Leaf and a new world. The shop was colorful, beautifully decorated, and quiet. We were warmly greeted by Vin and Becky, who emanated the high aesthetic ethos of Chinese hospitality. I was immediately comfortable, and we sat at a long tea bar where, for the next three hours, we were treated to Becky’s cheerful company as I sat transfixed, observing the beautiful tea leaves, beautifully simple tea ware, and Becky’s graceful hands deftly preparing tea in the traditional Chinese style. We talked a bit; I asked a few questions, and she exclaimed delightedly, “you know tea!” Few share my passion for the manifest vitality and aesthetic of tea, and we forged a bond.

I still think of the wonderful couple who owned a tea and coffee shop in Santa Barbara when I was in college there in the 1970s, who initially kindled my interest not just in making and drinking coffee and tea, but in excellent coffee and tea, and their precise preparation. I meet so few people who work in the area of their true passion as these people did, and as Becky does.

Becky explained every step she performed. Making tea is not mere ritual. Every step has a purpose essential to the outcome. Tea is a living entity and must be treated properly to be properly enjoyed. She handed us tiny cylindrical “smell cups” to appreciate the tea’s delicate fragrance before she poured tea into tiny half-ounce cups for us to taste.

I realized I had flunked a dimension of life, because I had not previously mastered proper preparation of green and oolong teas, and consequently had not enjoyed them at all. In addition to improper preparation, my experience was diminished by poor tea. I had not sustained the standards I learned from my Santa Barbara mentors. I had succumbed to a false economy and betrayed a sense of excellence, when I had acquired the discernment to apprehend true economy and real excellence. There were times in my life when I could not afford to uphold my sense of excellence, but there were more times in my life when I simply succumbed to lassitude toward excellence. My time with Becky, during which my husband had to leave twice to refuel the parking kiosk, disarmed my lassitude. I recommitted to excellence.

A jasmine flower comes furled in a tightly wound ball of oolong tea. The flower comes to life when boiling water is poured over the ball and covered a few minutes. The bloom is a dramatic testimony that tea is alive.

Although Becky used a draining tray and several attractive and useful implements, it is not difficult to follow her method of preparing tea without elaborate special equipment. First, she poured boiling water over the leaves in a filter to rinse them, and poured off the water. The reason for rinsing the leaves is to activate, or “awaken” them before brewing. Rinsing also reduces the concentration of caffeine. Green and oolong teas are brewed for just five seconds, but the leaves can be infused again as many as eight times. Subsequent infusions should be for ten seconds, then fifteen seconds, and up to a minute as the leaves lose strength with each infusion. The filter containing the leaves can be stored between infusions in a covered cup for up to a full day, or overnight in the refrigerator. Since some rare teas can cost up to $12 an ounce or even more, it’s a good thing the useful life of the leaves is longer than five seconds!

The amount of caffeine in tea depends on several variables, all of which matter more than whether the tea is black, green, oolong, or white. Soil conditions contribute significantly to the caffeine content of tea. I had always wondered whether the same amount of loose tea had the same amount of caffeine brewed in eight ounces of water or 16 ounces of water. Becky had researched this and was able to answer my question. More water equals more caffeine. With more water, more caffeine is extracted. It does not matter that the amount of tea remains constant; the amount of caffeine extracted depends on the amount of water extracting it. So, if you’re trying to cut back on caffeine, watering down your tea is not the way to do it. The way to cut down on caffeine is to rinse the tea, even twice, before brewing, to brew very briefly, and to drink — as un-American as it seems — small amounts. Really good tea is satisfying. I learned that I can enjoy and be satisfied with four ounces of tea. I bought some two-ounce cups. I can make a four-ounce pot of tea, sip a cup slowly, have another, and feel like I’ve had a really good cup of tea. I can easily drink sixteen ounces of gutless tea, and by gutless I don’t mean weak. Overstrong tea is not good. By gutless I mean insubstantial, a subjective sense of being unsatisfying. So good tea is good economy, especially when you can use the same leaves to make several pots.

As we tasted our tea in our half-ounce cups, Vin taught us that it took three sips to taste our tea properly. He taught us that the Chinese ideographic character for “taste” is three mouths. Anyone can drink down half an ounce in one sip. The tasting cups are the size of the little glass communion cups some churches use. The point is, you don’t taste your tea if you don’t savor it.

Another life-changing thing I learned at Vital T-Leaf is that I love pu-erh tea. I have never tried this rich and delicate type of tea before, mostly because I thought it would taste like dirt. Pu-erh tea is cached in earth for years, maybe decades, to attain an earthy flavor. But its flavor is very delicate and yet more complex and no less rich than a good Assam. It is a deep red-brown color, and tastes a little bit like chestnuts. It is unique and well worth trying, because it is a potential favorite for a tea aficionado. I think it is my new favorite tea. An entire wall of Vital T-Leaf is dedicated to shelves with canisters of different varieties of pu-erh teas.

I participated in a working study tour in China in 1987, and one of the free-time activities I was able to attend was a tour of a tea plantation. It was a beautiful place, and very clean; everything was done by hand with great pride and discipline and care. Seeing shelves and shelves of canisters filled with tea leaves hand rolled into tiny balls, and learning that Becky grew up on a family tea plantation, brought back fond memories of my time in China. The kindness and hospitality of people toward foreigners who expected to find telephones and elevators everywhere, was ubiquitous. Nanjing’s streets don’t follow a grid pattern. I don’t know what they follow, if anything. I consistently got lost when I ventured out from my hotel for a walk. I carried matches with the name of my hotel on them. When I wanted to return, I showed my matchbook to a stranger, and he or she invariably took my arm as if I were a small stupid child, and walked me back to my hotel. One of my colleagues and I were invited to a doctor’s home for dinner. The doctor and his wife treated us to delicacies that must have set them back several months’ wages — literally — since a doctor made $30 a month. They had a bed, a table and two chairs, a chamber pot under the bed, and a floor brazier on which they cooked. Liz and I sat in chairs, and the doctor and his wife sat on the bed. We had a feast, and afterwards, they walked us back to our hotel, disappointed that we knew no way to get them to America.

I kept a journal for the six weeks I was in China, with notes from conversations, excursions, and interactions with local people. I have the few pictures I took before my camera fell in the Hong Kong airport and went brain-dead soon after my arrival. I filled in the blanks with postcards. I haven’t looked at the journal in years, but renewal of my memories of this adventure was another fruit of my time with Becky at Vital T-Leaf. It was a full and fruitful day.

I returned home with three precious packets of tea: Blue People, a ginseng oolong; Jade oolong, and a house pu-erh; some small cups, a bamboo tea scoop, and new knowledge. I also acquired new things to appreciate, a new ally in tea, revived memories, and a renewed sense of excellence. I read through part of my China journal and recalled many wonderful forgotten adventures.

Oh yes, we did go on to Market Spice just to see if it was still there. The crowd was reminiscent of the buses in Nanjing, which prompted one of the members of my group to believe that the buses, which we only observed as pedestrians, had no seats. Not wishing to corrupt my peace of mind, and having no desire for the usual de rigueur free cup of Market Spice tea, we hiked back to Western Avenue to our car, and headed home while the memories were good.

This must have taken some practice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b36Yi-Pb1wM

So today is the 3 month period from the day we filed… – I am officially single, pending a court appearance which I will not show up to…

I went home and told mom this weekend.  Well, not really told her, but she guessed it… It’s amazing how psychic she is on these things… May be Mom and I are the ones meant to be   Mom is incredibly supportive too… Just like dad and sister.  What else can I ask for?

Oh, I told mom I will not think about guys (no need telling her about my secret crush to mr. vp, right?), but I will try my best in making the world a better place… I told her in the last few months I did 50 hours of counselling training, and I’m ready to help victims of domestic abuse. 

All should be well… But why did I find myself with tears rolling down my cheeks on my drive back?

You probably know already how a butterfly transforms itself from a cocoon to a fully majestic creature. Maybe you can even recite at the top of your head, one by the one, the stages of the metamorphosis. It has been a cliché to use what butterflies undergo to describe great transformations, victorious developments and successes. But little we know, butterflies can teach us more about life, success and freedom.

Do you know that an adult butterfly’s body is ten times the weight of its wings? Imagine now the load that they carry while they wander around the garden and flaunt their splendors. Even if you look closely, you won’t see a tinge of heaviness nor hardship. You might probably need to know why.

According to scientists, butterflies experience excruciating pain (the maximum they can handle), during the process of getting out of the cocoon. As they struggle for freedom, a liquid from their veins are pumped out to their wings making those paper-like wings strong and hard. As they go through that severe suffering, they become tougher. As they go through that needlepoint-like passageway, they reach their maximum potential.

This only proves that all, even those beautiful creatures that seem to have no cares in the world, carry their own shares of load. It’s just that they are strong enough not to notice the heaviness anymore.   However sometimes, in real life, the load might get a bit heavier and harder to carry. But you can always make yourself tougher, like the butterflies. You can take hardships as avenue to make yourself bigger and better so you can carry the everyday weight of taking responsibility of your life. You can carry the weight with ease if you arm yourself with the right attitude and perspective. You can choose to take actions to get out of your cocoon.

I experienced the same struggle when I decided to join Create Abundance core team. Through the process, the coaches didn’t help me get out of my cocoon. Instead, they empowered me so I’ll become tougher. I’m glad of the choice I made; I am now enjoying the garden of abundance and starting to flaunt my own splendor.

How about you? Are you already flying or still stuck in your cocoon?

If you want to learn business, investment and wealth from zeron contact me: 09154142208 or email me at jomarieabayon@yahoo.com.ph

It has often been said that everything in the fashion world is recycled. This is because of the phenomenon that fashion trends are repeated every twenty or thirty years. One of the best examples of this is the 70’s revival in the 90’s, which did not only influence fashion but the different aspects of popular culture as well. If this rule of repeating fashion trends is to be followed, it can be expected that in the first decade of the twenty-first century, it would be 80’s fashion, specifically the punk fashion trend, that would make a comeback, and indeed it has. This comeback, although expected was not anticipated to be as big as it has become, which has made every fashionista scramble to get those big belts, striped shirts and a pair of Chuck Taylor?s.

Every era is accompanied by a fashion trend and the 80’s are one of them. This is because it was during the 80’s when the world saw very distinct fashion trends. Some of these include the popularity of black and white striped shirts and shirts with floral prints in the 80’s, which recently have also made a comeback, especially among punk rock artists. Another example is the recent popularity of big earrings, belts and other accessories, which were also distinct to the 80?s, which are used to make the people wearing them stand out. In addition to these, jelly bracelets and fishnet stockings are also making a comeback, which are very effective in adding flair to an outfit.

Other fashion items that have also made a comeback recently include leg warmers and the veer popular Chuck Taylor shoes. Among all these, the emphasis seem to be in having more colors, as the 80?s is always remembered as an era where it was not considered bad to have as many colors as you can in your outfit.

In addition to clothing, other manifestations that the 80’s are back include the way people wear their make up, especially punk rock artists. This is because it is they who wear either the very colorful eye make-up that characterized the 80’s, which include the use of colorful eye shadow and dark eyeliner.

In the fashion world, fashion trends of yesteryear make a comeback every twenty or thirty years. This is because as expected, the 80’s are back, as we now see certain fashion trends that include wearing Chuck Taylor’s, large belts, large earrings, and colorful shirts have made a comeback. Given this, it can then be said that indeed, the punk generation, and the attitude that came with it, is back.

Characters of the new Casio Baby-G are the 48 cities world-time, EL automatic backlight. Some of them are aimed at women based on size or colour scheme, but many Baby-G’s are unisex models as long as your wrist isn’t too big. Casio watches are dependable with some models even featuring 10 year battery life.

Baby-G watches are bundled with features and are perfect for active people who want to wear their timepiece where ever they go or whatever they do for example dancing, climbing, travel, school, and many sports.

Casio watches for women are cool, fashionable watches that won’t break the bank. By always employing the most up-to-date technology, and continuing to go beyond conventional thinking about the watch, the G-SHOCK brand has become Casio’s flagship timepiece item. Many models are solar powered via Casio’s new Tough Solar System (TSS).

Two thirds of Casio’s Baby-G sales are in Casio’s home market back in Japan. The Japan based Casio Company, diversified out from the calculator business in 1974 to create electronic watches beginning with the Casiotron electronic wristwatch. Over the last 30 years Casio has been a major global innovator of watch design and development.

For the most accurate timepieces, look for Waveceptor watches with atomic timekeeping, which repeatedly adjusts the watch to keep it precise. The lady who loves Casio watches for women knows she has a dependable watch that is both stylish and good-looking. Overall these watches are for keeping time.

Part of the sales of these Baby-G models is earmarked as contributions to the Eco-Research Network (ERN) project. It hopes that it will help to protect and improve the global environment that is home to mammals, whales, and other life forms.

The G-100-1BVMUR Casio G-Shock model features:

Electro-luminescent (EL) backlight for viewing in low light conditions and a clear analogue display with negative LCD digital display.

The MTG-900DU-2VER Casio Solar Powered Radio-controlled G-Shock model features:

Electro-luminescent (EL) backlight for viewing in low light conditions, and a clear digital display.

The G-7500G-9VER Casio G-Shock model features: Clear digital display which has an electro-luminescent (EL) backlight for viewing in low light conditions, and has water resistance to 200m, suitable for diving.

Casio wristwatch brands such as G-shock, Pathfinder and Baby-G are some of the most favourite wristwatch brands due to their technologically advanced features, designed for complete utility and accuracy. With these qualities, Casio watches are sure to please even the most discriminating person.

Casio Pathfinder watches contain minute sensors that detect direction, pressure, and other conditions to aid keep the wearer in touch with the natural world when challenging the great outdoors. This timepiece has a resin case and stainless steel caseback. The watch features a duplex LCD dial, and has solar power to keep the time ticking over. The ultimate in reliability, the Casio Pathfinder watch is ideal for travellers and outdoor adventurers.

There are a number of characteristics that build a brand. Seiko UK Limited is a subsidiary of Seiko Watch Corporation set up in Tokyo, Japan in 1881 and has been producing exceptional watches for many years. Seiko has many good characteristics which would all suggest why it has achieved so much success, but the three most important ones are discussed below.

1) Personality – Possibly the most important characteristic of the lot. Seiko has its own individual style that helps to give its brand its own personality and individuality. The founder of Seiko, Kintaro Hattori has a simple motto. “Never look back, look forward, step forward even if only half a step at a time, knowing how to be flexible in order to accept changes, be sincere.” This motto has kept the company striving for excellence at all times, and has forced the company to head in the right direction. They can maintain a personality that strives for newness all the time and bring new products to market. Consumers will always have new products to buy and be happy to buy them.

2) Style – Seiko has a very distinctive style that surrounds its watches. In a world where the majority of consumers that can afford watches go to work, Seiko have designed their watches to fit in with this trend. Many of the watches Seiko stock are targeted towards professionals. Some of these watches are Seiko men’s watches and some are Seiko ladies watches. Again, in line with the professional image they wish to sell, many of their watches are finished with a stainless steel strap, a titanium strap or a gold-plated strap, all of which look exquisite. Whilst Seiko obviously make very nice watches, there is always room for improvement and as the company motto states, half a step forward is always a good thing.

3) Quality – Seiko is renowned across the world for its excellent quality in watches. If consumers ever wanted a watch that offered reliability, then Seiko would be it. Quality can mean a lot to consumers and is an extremely important element when deciding what brand of watch to buy. This is because buying a watch is not an every day purchase, and therefore most people take a while to choose the watch they want. It would need to work for many years and Seiko has built up a reputation for having extremely reliable watches. If consumers ever wanted a watch that offered reliability, then Seiko would be it.

There are other elements too which are important in discussing why Seiko has achieved so much success but these are essentially the most important ones. The only thing Seiko need to do now is keep doing what they are doing. Take half a step forward any time they can and continue to strive for excellence.

There are a number of characteristics that build a brand. Seiko UK Limited is a subsidiary of Seiko Watch Corporation set up in Tokyo, Japan in 1881 and has been producing exceptional watches for many years. Seiko has many good characteristics which would all suggest why it has achieved so much success, but the three most important ones are discussed below.

1) Personality – Possibly the most important characteristic of the lot. Seiko has its own individual style that helps to give its brand its own personality and individuality. The founder of Seiko, Kintaro Hattori has a simple motto. “Never look back, look forward, step forward even if only half a step at a time, knowing how to be flexible in order to accept changes, be sincere.” This motto has kept the company striving for excellence at all times, and has forced the company to head in the right direction. They can maintain a personality that strives for newness all the time and bring new products to market. Consumers will always have new products to buy and be happy to buy them.

2) Style – Seiko has a very distinctive style that surrounds its watches. In a world where the majority of consumers that can afford watches go to work, Seiko have designed their watches to fit in with this trend. Many of the watches Seiko stock are targeted towards professionals. Some of these watches are Seiko men’s watches and some are Seiko ladies watches. Again, in line with the professional image they wish to sell, many of their watches are finished with a stainless steel strap, a titanium strap or a gold-plated strap, all of which look exquisite. Whilst Seiko obviously make very nice watches, there is always room for improvement and as the company motto states, half a step forward is always a good thing.

3) Quality – Seiko is renowned across the world for its excellent quality in watches. If consumers ever wanted a watch that offered reliability, then Seiko would be it. Quality can mean a lot to consumers and is an extremely important element when deciding what brand of watch to buy. This is because buying a watch is not an every day purchase, and therefore most people take a while to choose the watch they want. It would need to work for many years and Seiko has built up a reputation for having extremely reliable watches. If consumers ever wanted a watch that offered reliability, then Seiko would be it.

There are other elements too which are important in discussing why Seiko has achieved so much success but these are essentially the most important ones. The only thing Seiko need to do now is keep doing what they are doing. Take half a step forward any time they can and continue to strive for excellence.

Dave Hill - Workplace Violence Article

This is our dog Megan. She has anger management issues. Our family life is kept hectic- transporting kids to activities such as soccer games and practices, music lessons, etc. There are days when we rush home to grab some high speed food and then dash out the door again. Our dog, Megan, follows us around the house putting on her “pretty face”- puppy eyes, ears pricking up, and a goofy smile just to entice us to love her so much that we will take her for a long walk. As we rush out the door, we say goodbye to her, and you can see the bitter disappointment in her face. We return a few hours later to find the contents of a waste paper basket strewn all over the floor. She looks at us sheepishly with guilt written all over her face. She does not make eye contact when we reprimand her and call her a “Garbage Dog”. I often wonder what goes on in her mind once we leave the house. Does she get animated and verbally angry? “I hate this family, I sit here all day waiting for them to come home and take me for a walk and they just come home to taunt me. Why do they bother to come home if they don’t want to go for a walk? I bet they are out there walking some other dog. I hate them, I hate them so much. I am so angry; I am going to show them who is the boss in this house. I am going to throw the garbage. Dirty tissues, candy wrappers and other nasty stuff – that will teach them a lesson. Oh no, what have I done, they will never forgive me…”
The dog throwing the garbage is a frequent demonstration of aggression. I would like to be able to say that all acts of aggression that have crossed my path are laughable and tolerable; however, that is not the case. I have been on the receiving end of workplace verbal aggression that humiliated me and sucked the energy out of me, but most importantly, I have witnessed the end of someone’s career when physical violence came into the scene.

Dave Hill - Article on Workplace Violence

It was Christmas day, December 25th, 1981, and I was on a cargo ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Christmas, the season of good will, was about to unravel at the seams and result in an engineer officer getting sacked. There were personality conflicts between some of the senior officers and the junior officers, and “pushing buttons” to get a reaction was the game at hand. An engineer cadet mischievously took a bite out of the 2nd Mate’s (deck officer) sandwich without asking as he was out of the room. He got rebuked and jostled by the 3rd engineer officer, which caused the 6th engineer officer to react violently and beat up the 3rd engineer. With emotions in the room flaring, the scene progressed when the 2nd deck officer came back into the room to find a fight scene just finishing, and a part of his sandwich missing. With anger, he shouted at the 6th engineer, “If you hit me that will be the end of your career.” That’s when the 6th engineer officer hit him in the face, and the 2nd mate fell down, concussed. Merry Christmas, all. The 6th engineer was sacked when the ship got into port a few weeks later. It most likely ended his career.

To this day, I still wonder how a good engineer could end up getting sacked over a sandwich. How did the personality conflicts deteriorate and get so out of hand? How and why did physical violence invade the workplace?

What Can We Learn From This?
As an engineer of nearly 30 years, I have grown to learn that conflict is a natural part of working with people. I have also grown to learn the importance of dealing with conflict, rather than living with it. Differences of opinion, different motivations, emotional conflicts, misunderstandings, ignorance, manipulation, and prejudice are just a few of the aspects that can “light the fuse” of a conflict. If not managed appropriately, conflict can potentially escalate to violence. What are some of the devastating effects that can result from conflict in the workplace?
• Loss of respect and trust
• Employees setting each up for failure
• A culture of doing the minimum
• Increased turnover of valued employees
• Loss of profits
• Energy levels and creativity are sucked out of the workplace
• Deadlines get missed
• Teams that are not cohesive become inefficient

Ten Ways Exceptional Workplaces Handle Worker Conflict and Violence
1. Train people at all levels of the organization in conflict management, negotiation skills, and listening skills
2. Deal with conflict right away, rather than having it fester in the background
3. Have zero tolerance for violence
4. Hire people with exceptional communication skills and impeccable ethics
5. Do thorough background checks when hiring
6. Address unresolved conflicts efficiently and effectively through workplace resources and have a policy and a process that is flexible enough to cover different scenarios
7. Develop a culture of respect and trust, and have a workplace that embraces diversity
8. Energize and empower employees.
9. Create a workplace with an aura of balanced fun-energy. Levity can help derail conflict in the heat of the moment.
10. Evoke an open-door culture where employees will speak up when they identify that conflict is not getting resolved, or if they have a concern that it may escalate to violence

Further information on this subject can be found at www.fbi.gov/publications/violence.pdf

If you have any advice, thoughts, or comments on conflict and violence in the workplace, please feel free respond to this blog or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.) www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved

Dave Hill - Article on Job Trade-Off's

It was July 13th, 1998, and I was on top of my house putting on a new roof covering. I was installing new tar-type roof shingles after removing three layers of old ones. My wife and I were aching and hurting from carrying the heavy bundles of shingles onto the roof. I remember thinking to myself, “I never want to be so poor that I have to do this again.” Anyone who has done this type of work will relate to how physically punishing it is. At that time, I was employed by a major insurance carrier as a Property Insurance Loss Prevention Specialist in Canada. My job was to visit heavy industry locations, identify major equipment breakdown risks, and recommend actions to reduce the risk. I worked out of my house as a field engineer, and would go to the corporate office every year for my performance review. My boss was very happy with my performance, I was doing exceptional work going over and beyond what was expected, but every year he would give me the same story, saying, “You must remember, Dave, that in the present economic climate, a 2% pay increase is not too bad.” This boss was not liked by any of the field engineers for many reasons. His character and ethics were questionable, and we did not trust him or respect him. When he decided to move, it was a breath of fresh air. I was not at all concerned when he announced that he was transferring to the company’s insurance division in Dallas, Texas.
Fast forward 3 years, and I have resigned from the insurance company after finding a new career that would allow me to do more of what I liked and would also pay me nearly double the money. It would involve me working at the corporate office of a chemical corporation in Dallas, Texas, USA. As far as I was concerned, I would never work in the property insurance industry again- I was sick of being poor.
I arrived at the corporate office, and within a few weeks I was given the assignment of organizing a meeting with the insurance carriers, and basically giving them a scolding over some loss prevention reports that were not timely and accurate. The insurance carrier representatives arrived into the conference room. Tension was in the air as they knew that we had issues with the work they were doing. Low and behold, who should walk in the door – my ex-boss from Canada. I ended up reprimanding him and his direct reports in a professional manner, and we came up with a solution to make sure our corporate insurance needs would be met. I smiled to myself thinking that God not only has a plan for me, he also has a wicked sense of humor. Some years later, this not so nice ex-boss went to work for a company called Enron, the infamous energy company that went belly-up. God had not finished messing with him.
This week, twelve years later, I came across a woman in her 30’s who was describing her job working for a marketing company. She said it was so perfect that if they asked her to sign a lifetime employment contract, she would sign it immediately. She stated that she has a great relationship with her boss, and that she loves everything about the work she does.
This woman is one of the small percentages of people who do not have to deal with job trade-offs. I have had three different careers, each of them have been extremely rewarding and have helped me grow as an engineer; however, none of them have been perfect. Each one has had significant negative aspects.
Career #1 – Engineering Officer on Cargo Ships – working in 120 degree Fahrenheit engine rooms, being away from home for 6 to 9 months at a time, working 7 days a week, dangerous.
Career #2 – Loss Prevention Specialist in the Property Insurance Industry – I did not respect or trust my boss. I was not paid well. I had to travel a lot.
Career #3 – Principal Risk Engineer – My work included regular conflict.

What can we learn from this?
1. Every job has its trade offs. There are very few “perfect” jobs. It is so important to look over your shoulder periodically, and reevaluate your job. What do you like about it and what do you dislike? The aspects you dislike are the trade-offs. Ask yourself the question, “Are the trade-offs worth it?” If not, why be in a job that is not meeting your needs?
2. Identify what you need to do to move to a job or new career which will incorporate more of what you have a passion for, and less of what you dislike.
3. Write down the steps to make change happen and set goals (research the job, identify training needs, get career guidance etc.)
4. Talk to people doing the job or in the group/department to find out what the expected trade-offs are. Make sure you are not stepping into an arena of unexpected job challenges.

I would appreciate any feedback or personal stories on job trade-offs. Please use the comments section below or send me an e-mail at dave@davehillspeaks.com –
Thanks, Dave

Dave’s Public Speaking Website (Bio, Keynotes, Workshops, etc.)
www.davehillspeaks.com

Copyright © 2009 Dave Hill Speaks LLC all rights reserved.

Here’s an example of excellence in presentation, as well as interesting content:

http://www.ted.com/talks/julian_treasure_the_4_ways_sound_affects_us.html

(Thanks to joro for yesterday’s Thing and the above)