Been thinking about this thing about ‘if the time is right’ or ‘wrong timing’ etc. I notice that the behaviour it drives most times is to wait for the right time or to declare resignedly that the time was not right when a supposedly right action doesn’t yield desired results.

What bugs me I guess is what we do while we are supposedly waiting for the right time? How will we know when the time is right? …ah and here is where my thoughts led me:

It’s not really about timing but about experience. Using a journey as an analogy, there is a distance to be travelled in order to complete that journey. If we take the destination as the outcome one desires and the act of making the journey as the action that needs to be done at the ‘right time’, then it sugggests that you’ll only get to your destination if you take the actions at the right time… But analogically this is not true,it might take you forever but as long as you travel, you’ll get there. What this analogy suggests is that as long as you experience the appropriate distance between where you are and where you want to be, you’ll end up there eventually. Timing merely determines when you get there depending on the route you take which inturn determines the experience you’ll have on the way.

If at any time you stop acting (moving) you’ll never get there. If you keep going round and round in circles with no consistent direction of motion, you’ll never get there. If you keep looking backwards you’ll slow yourself down.

Bottom line, it’s not about the right time, but the right experience. When the experience is complete you’ll have your desired outcome; you’ll be at your desired location.

If you want to get there faster then research well before you start the journey. Shortest route, traffic conditions, mode of travel, etc. This way you’ll not get lost, go round in circles or start looking back. You’ll also be better able to orientate yourself every step of the way.

There is a time for everything is not about waiting for the right time but about knowing where you are, where you want to go and what you need to do at ANY point in the journey, including this moment, to get there

Maybe we should ease up on the focus on ‘right time’ and focus on how the experience we are currently having will get us to where we want to go and what we need to do right now.

Rather than wait for the right time, we could find out what time it is now. It’s worth noting that it’s not one action that will get you there but a lot of actions… it’s not about when to take a left turn but what turn to take now.. waiting at the junction will not change a right turn to a left turn no matter what time it is. But if you keep moving there will come a time when turning left is required.

It’s probably impossible to know the right time for a specific action unless one can see the future, but it’s possible to know what the time is right for now, and that comes from experience.

Mark 13:32-37
“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

The reality of Jesus’ betrayal and his death has become a reality to the disciples who now sit Jesus down to enquire when it will take place. This is so human and curiosity kills. Israel was and is still waiting for the coming messiah who would save them and take them to heaven and like the rest of Israel, the disciples wanted to know when. They realized that Jesus was the long-awaited messiah but wanted to know what next. Reminds me of me because as I wait upon the Lord for the right job opportunity, my curiosity kills me to a point of asking God for signs or evidence that he has something in store and I’m reminded again that I am to wait on God for his timing and not mine.

Jesus’s response to this question is not what the disciples probably hoped to hear, specially when he said that neither the angels or even he knew when the time was but he certainly gave clues. 2 days ago, a new friend and I were talking and he indicated to me signs that the end times were here and I have to say, it was compelling. Therefore the caution that Jesus gives us to be on guard and not asleep is key for us today. Our eyes are to be focused on sharing the gospel to the world and living worthy lives through God’s help and not to be caught off-guard. It’s a wake up call that we cannot be asleep in our walk with Christ but awake. If we are not walking with Christ yet, it’s a loud shout to us that the end is near and before we loose the opportunity to share eternity with God, we need to submit our lives to his Lordship. Rise and shine Children of the living God!

In His Loving Service,
Vineet

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Mission Panorama

Direct marketing blends the art of the message and brand in a communication written expressly for you, delivered to (or viewed by) one person at a time.  So why is data so important to direct marketers?

Direct marketing relies on the 3 R’s:

• communicating the Right message
• to the Right person
• at the Right time

This is an iterative process and direct marketers test, test, and retest so that we know that are delivering the right message to the right person at the right time.  We have the data to back that up.

Once you understand who your best customers are (what channels they shop, what they buy, when they buy them, what messages they respond to, where they live, etc, etc), then you can go after more of them by marketing to highly similar people where are throughout the day. 

Proper segmentation of your customers enables better targeting and higher ROIs.  Conversely, it also allows you to avoid or suppress your lowest performing customers.  With better targeting, each message that is written expressly for them and delivered at the right time has a much higher likelihood of being received and an action taken.  And with data, you can track all of this, every step of the way.

This is a tale of something found and something lost.

A friend, a foe, a fighter, a redeemer, an echo, a mirror, a loved one, it is the summation of all of those things.
The story is not sad.
It is all but sad.
There is no ending.
Only time will tell me the difference.
Only time will set it right.
Only time will pass.

One – Right Place, Right time.

I met her at an uncommon place. It was a place to remind oneself who and what you are. It was a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city life. It was an escape from a life made of never-ending hooves cracking to sound of work, of hard-earned monies, and of love conditional over and above the call of what a relationship was. The place was supposed to be the escape to all of that. Yet, I found her there. You never expect things like that to happen in places you never purposely visited for that. Although the sincerest notion was inside your inner consciousness, it appalled the thought that it would run off the lines, break the rules, and end up smack right in front of your face. Friends for that matter, never comprehended that and they never will see instances eye to eye with you on what the place was for me and on what had happened that fateful day unless of course, you start to tell them.

Doing something you loved always ended up right and true until the very end. What I did that day, ended up as being exactly that. It was an unforgettable moment, a scar that will never heal, and an idea that will never be realized. It was quick and painless and at the same time, it was and slow and unbearable, all at once. My passion for calculated risks led me there that day. Having saved up from a month’s amenable pay, my friends and I decided to return our love for the sea by doing what you call a mopping up of our playground. It was “Clean up Day”. Rather than going with the usual, I decided to look at it as “Clean up my act” weekend. Weekends really start very slow, reeling from a long week defined by booze fringes filled with rotten hangovers and half-baked strides towards the workplace. But it started. The long weekend started. The refuge was about three hours from where I lived so in the long drive, there was music, all generations a plenty, 80’s, 90’s, and 2000 above. The long drive also included indisputable humor, wisecracks, and a few snores. It wasn’t tiring at the least, but tested your patience on an occasional moment. It was fun. You get to see the sights, the lush greens absent from where you normally spend your day. More so, the long queues of smoke belching vehicles were also absent, and it made the whole trip more natural, more vibrant, and peaceful. After a few hours of gliding through the hills and speeding through the highway, we finally arrived at the particular location. My refuge.

All activities include gearing up. Most of the off-the-shelf hobbies do that. Fixing the net on your favorite racket, taping your fists before sliding on that glove, checking the oil pressure on your stage three racecar before the time trial, checking the tire pressure on your bike before the downhill run, all of it mattered. In our case, it was securing gear. It was pretty funny though, delving into an activity that you didn’t exactly have the gear for.

You just had the passion, the longing to belong. No purpose since that was indefinite, no particular reason since that was subjective and no goals since it was meant to be just fun and safe. After securing our under and over sized gear, in other words “lacking”, we settled down to get ready to fulfill our own objectives, and of fulfilling the common goals of having fun and being safe while we had that fun. We readied ourselves for stories that will soon be told, and soon be remembered. The place was right. Now all that was left was the timing.

The weather and the sea are uncontrollable entities. Heaven and earth bow down before them. I was, simply put, under their beckoning call. My hobby, more so, my passion is under that great duress. It is ever so dependent on them. It is the power that dictates if getting your license to pursue it will be even worth it. On that day, the weather was perfect. The sun was vibrant and the sea was calm. Dynamic shadows frolicked about and the sunshine made you squint your eyes. Everything was smothered in bright yellows and whites. Instead of snow, sunshine covered the entire place and instead of the biting cold, a warm embrace.

It was warm enough. You can actually feel your sweat as it cooled you off every time a welcome sea breeze passed by. The occasional bead of sweat bounced of my brow but it made all the difference. I worked in a controlled environmental setting; air-conditioned hallways and ventilated elevators, humming vents, and whistling computers. On an ordinary day for the past nine and a half years, I never broke a sweat. Today, the sweat, the warmth, the sunshine, and all of it were welcome. I felt I was human again. I wasn’t the robot toiling away blindly at post-idiotic and pre-cognitive suggestions, of creative juices overflowing down the drain, and listening to the whimper and murmurs of unique individuals who felt that they were masters of the world. I wasn’t the employee who walked around with a profit and loss margin written in my forehead to see if you were valuable or not. I wasn’t a liability nor was I an asset. I had escaped. I had overcome the ties that bound me to the everyday drama and satires of work and managed to sneak past the guard effortlessly. I knew I could do it. I did, and to be honest, there was more. I had broken away. I was free.

Relationships were a needle in a haystack for me. Having ended a long-term one for another long-term one, and recently, having the latter end as well, I felt so exhausted. Beat and almost out of it, I badly needed to break away well from, my break-up. Again. I needed time and space badly, to think, to feel, to bridge my thoughts, to echo my opinions, and to look at the horizon or the sunset for answers to a whole lot of questions. I just didn’t have any anymore. This was it. This was the place. This was the time. When I had broken away, I brought with me the tons of questions, the tensions and anxiety, the fatigue, the heartbreak, the memories to be cleaned up. I wasn’t just cleaning up the playground; I was cleaning my mind, my heart, and my soul. The time was right.

There were three’s to everything; three meals in a day, three people in a car and those three shared a room, three packs of cigarettes, and even three bottles of liquor to be consumed during the nighttime activities. The threes were there, but quietly, the two’s made their way. We had two cars and two rooms. We had two dives to clean up the sea on the first of two days. We always went down in twos, like partners that watched out for each other. We had twice the fun and we always checked twice if everything was safe and sound. On the first pass, someone already did the job for us, leaving us with a few handfuls of floating debris. On the second one, we just decided to do the clean up on the trash residing on the coastlines which eventually will still plague the sea if, it manages to roll towards it on its own. Needless to say, we fulfilled two objectives, have fun and be safe. There were threes and there were twos.

If I look closely back, I was alone. There was not going to be a two come tomorrow when I leave this place after I’ve finally spent my time. It was going to be just me after all. I hate excess baggage, and that was what I exactly had. Or did I? Was I afraid of going back and facing all my issues alone? I hadn’t figured those out yet. Did I want to or was I supposed to? Maybe I was there simply because I didn’t want to and wasn’t supposed to. I was free to think and feel what I wanted to. After the two “twice the fun” dives we had, we rested a bit. Nighttime slowly crept up on the once bright sky, offsetting the yellow hues with purple streaks. There was always an impeccable silence every time the sun set at the refuge. It was a silence that made your heart warm. It was a silence that offered peace amidst the shifting colors of reds, oranges, and gradient fills of grays and whites. The sun slowly started to stand down and offered a few picturesque moments, the stuff pretty pictures and wild imaginations are made of. Then it hit me. I was single.

There were twos and there was one.

Night outs were pretty much the thing for me for as far as I could remember. As far back as high school, my friends and I had them on occasion and even when there was none. The planned birthdays of dear friends and surprise parties of acquaintances, the triumphant celebration of passing marks and the drunk debates of failing grades, the recollection of high school classmates lost, and the ever fanciful theory driven love angle, they were all toasted and echoed with crisp, frost-laden glasses. Passing the night away was also the norm for me in my college days. The exact same methods and processes with my high school ones. The difference lay in the fact that there were teenage girls involved. High school was a walk in the park back then. An all boy institution of over populated hormones and fashion conscious teenagers were pretty easy to get along with and were pretty easy to connect to. College was different. The genius bookworm and singing diva, the faith centric and ever popular girl next door, the tomcat ready to clash with the titans of the block, all had a say in whatever topic was there, and was about to be set free. The topics included the latest scoop on the ex-varsity player now just loafing about the campus, the availability of the rock star and long- haired wallflower copying notes, even to the exam format leaked from a fraternity brother of a professor. These night outs turned me into what I am today. For the past nine years working for a profit driven business posing as a venue for the creative and dynamic, heading on out into the night was like sharing a part of you that work never got around to seeing or recognizing. Amazing friends from high school and college and worthy office mates, those took you through the seemingly endless night. They were part my evenings and part of the memories that pulled me to where I am now because of the talks, off the record debates on self-worth, picking the minds and the hearts for sentiments across all subjects. Until today I consider night outs as precious moments, to be seen, be heard, and be felt by an audience of true and unbiased people.

The first day shed the last few remaining streaks of white and yellow, and gave in to the night. A salty and almost overpowering sea breeze made the walk back to our rooms both comfortable and cynical. We were going to have a night out, in a neutral environment, with fairly unrecognized faces and an unmet crowd. I was thinking, if that could somehow be exciting, or just another one of those evenings where I was supposed to keep to myself. Unshaped as my motives were, it did offer a welcome response to getting back on the saddle after falling off with so much tragedy. Maybe it was high time I got drunk or maybe it was just high time that I should let it all loose, like freeing my inner caged animal. I never liked letting loose to be honest, but the animal was bound to bite its master if it came to that. That was an option that I would never forget. I owed that animal a few drinks and made a deal with it, that after this night, I would set it free. No more cages, no more leashes. Pure freedom. After contemplating on how and when that would happen, I started singing songs inside my head to fuel my objectives, creating minute long music video of short snippets and enticing scenarios. I had hoped for an evening both entertaining as well as an evening with cool, old school friends celebrating our first day that had passed by so quickly.

A hearty dinner for our weary bodies was the first step. It was sought after nourishment. We feasted until our stomachs went into shut down mode. Then it began. A program seen by many as a venue to see people in their finest, exercising tumultuous hoorah to be social and to be valued. Funny as it may seem, it was the night for everyone to be their best and be their worst. The drinking started and all inhibitions just went out the window. Most of my friends, including me, were called up to the stage to defy shyness and accept a prize or just be a contestant, weary of the hosts ‘ power over us. We were pawns in a chess match, sacrificial lambs to the ever-popular game of who’s better than everyone else in the house of pain. It wasn’t big I admit, but the place seemed so massive at a time that I was indulged in freeing the inner caged animal. Who would see me? Who would tell the whole world I lived in, that I was incapable of being me? Who would judge my intentions and my motives for getting a few laughs and just letting it all hang loose and have fun? There was no one I presumed, but I was terrified of the idea that there was. There could be a secret agent somewhere, an assassin in disguise. They were out there somewhere, the friend of a friend, the quiet picture taker documenting the event of the night. The person who got drunk because of a single shot of a mixed drink and ended up recording the events for the evening. They were all out to get me. I’d better play it safe.

Most of my life, I’ve been a person consumed by the idea that I should be living up to certain standards created by a maniacal society. The dos and don’ts of everyday existence was something that brought me to where and what I am today. Do not feed the animals. Do not go to school without an assignment done. Do not smoke. Do not take in illegal substances. Do not show disgust in front of our guests. Do not defy the rules of religion. Do not overtake in a no-overtake zone. Do not break the rules. The do not dos were a truckload yet I lived up to them, blind, as it may seem. More so, I lived up to the dos. I loved my parents. I respected others and their beliefs and just flushed what I personally believed in down the drain of life. I reached out to the less fortunate than myself, trying to be a saint when in a second glance, I was a sinner, bound by my mortality in a world that accepted sinners. I told myself not to long for something unworthy of my time and my status in life, and considered angels and saints as better than me. I recognized that education gave me the right to think and wonder, and I loved learning to the best of my abilities. I created works of art to be consumed by the populace that I felt was the norm. I worked hard for a family which merited such an act of devotion, and gave my all so that a piece of that effort would bring me closer to the people I loved, the people that mattered. In a nutshell, I was born and raised by rules. These were rules that choked my inner being and restricted it form becoming what I cherished it to be, just me. I wanted not to care anymore, but such an idea would never be acceptable in the prying eyes of a public so demanding. That night, I never expected chance to free me from the bounds of which I saw as love, hate, work, anger, frustration, deceit, blood lust, and social etiquette. Chance was on my side. Chance would be better. Chance would take me higher and give me time to tell myself that I can accept these growing pains. It would be the achievement of a life marred by existentialist debates on who or what is a better person and the long arduous hours of back-breaking seemingly endless talks on relationships. It would be the epitome of an excuse for a life controlled by rules and standards. Chance will set me free.

Then, on that very same night, clad in a sweet sky blue top and a paisley blue skirt, she came.

She was different. She would change the course of my life.

The place and the timing was indeed, perfect.

We always wait for the RIGHT TIME, not knowing that EACH TIME is RIGHT, only if we make things happen.

We keep looking forward for TOMORROW but really, there’s no better time to be happy but NOW.

HAPPINESS can’t be found only at the end of the road. It’s THE JOURNEY itself that matters.

Enjoy every waking moment.
There’s so much to be happy about.

When I wrote my EBook: 50 Ugly Truths About Owning and Running Your Own Business…and 5 reasons why you should do it anyway I was responding to a number of misperceptions I was hearing from entrepreneurs.

Historically, at any given time six out of ten US adults is thinking about starting their own business. A number of new entrepreneurs are emerging that  I refer to as “necessity-preneurs “who were downsized and can not find new employment, are deciding to launch their own businesses as they want a much more active role in the security of their careers. The last group are cashing in their 401k and or borrowing from friends or family to buy an existing business and in a short amount of time realize they really just bought a job and they are quickly running out of cash.

One thing I have learned over the past 25 years of identifying roadblocks impeding businesses profitable growth is there really is not any new creations in terms of problems and strategies to grow a profitable business. Peter Drucker simplified it even further; there are only two considerations; innovation or marketing.

Just as I shared 12 mentor moments that I have used personally over the years to help businesses grow profitably, I have the Top 20 entrepreneur best practices that I have observed and lived over the years.

#1 “More” Sales or “Create Sales Velocity”?

#2 Dismiss or Distribute “Yafo’s” quickly …

#3; If Sales are Scary, You Can NOT Afford to NOT get Creative..

#4 Remember “The Law of the Locker Room”… it truly is a small world after all

#5 Tailor Questions for your buyers that Illustrate your Expertise and Prepare you to Serve their Needs

#6 Learn To Cut Bait …early

#7 You are Not Your Market

# 8 When Sales Get Rough…Look for Diamonds

#9 Don’t Let the Two Most Important Plates Drop

#10 “How” you “CHASE” New Business Matters….Do you want pepperoni with that new checking account?

#11 Follow the leader is a dangerous game, particularly when you follow Hippos…

#12 An “Idea” is not a product…and it’s definitely not a business

#13 Hire Strategic Partners… Not “Marketing Tools”

#14 Customers will Stiff you…But Don’t Let Them Burn you…

#15 Beware of “Smores”…Social Media Whores

#16 “Make a Wish” come true with Focused Passion

#17 intentionally reward the customer behaviors you desire …

#18 You will Receive Your Best Tips To Grow Your Company From Prospects Who Do Not Buy From You…

#19 Interview those who Exit and identify Roadblocks to Achieving Your Strategic Objectives…

#20 Exercise Your Power of Choice in Choosing Your Role on the Team…If Your Gift is Being a Duck….Be a Duck!

The above are by no means an all inclusive list of every entrepreneur best practice but they are some of my favorites. The post that seemed to resonate the most and create the greatest number of discussions was the difference between creating “more” sales versus “creating sales velocity” ( entrepreneur best practice #1).

How about you….do you have an Entrepreneurial Best Practice you use regularly and would like to share?

Of the above which best practice(s) resonate most with you?

Which of the above do most entrepreneurs struggle the most with based on your observations?

Is there a Key best practice not identified? (If so please add to the discussion)

As we move into 2010 which of the above Best practices do you feel will resonate most? Why?

Thanks for hanging with me  in this series of posts and I want to particularly thank those who have reached out to me personally to discuss this series of posts. As I have discussed, I enjoy helping entrepreneurs realize profitable growth and the strategies discussed are not new. One of my goals in blogging is to help business owners who may not be able to afford outside help at this time and I hope this blog adds value.

If you are wired to take on the 50 Ugly truths of starting and owning your own business and you have intentionally chosen to do it anyway I hope the above best practices were of value to you and your team.

Entrepreneurs will lead our country to economic recovery and I am proud to serve this innovative group of passionate problem solvers along with my other clients.

Toujours The Buckaroos, cette fois-ci en 2001. Album Master Were Devils. Version studio de Wrong Place, Right Time sur des images live …

Masters Were Devils

It goes back to his birth,
Birth in painful strife,
End his cry for life
Was his mother’s last breathe.
Later when he’s barely ten,
Ten but workin’ on a farm;
He lost one arm
In the oat grinder ‘cause of playin’ with a hen

 He was in the wrong place
Wrong place but at the Right time.
He was a man born ‘der a cursed star,
A slave of misfortune and sordid nightmares.
He got nothing to win
To stand against the wind.

 The night he loved that girl,
Girl named Linda Chearl.
He didn’t know she was true
Like some blessed rescue.
In less than a year of regret,
Regret of the choice he’d set :
He met her again, three months pregnant
With a guy hand in hand.

He went nearby to the station
&’ cross the rails, he lay on.
But the D Train didn’t come
‘Cause of a lightning strike.

Whose fault is it anyway…and does it really matter? How long does finger pointing (justification) last…does it help?  Not usually.  In fact, driving guilt home brings resentment and a breakdown of the relationship.  The good news is there are 8 steps to take in getting past the fault factor and onto enjoying  healthy communication and a vibrant relationship.

8 ways to get over the fault factor:

1-Get into the right mindset…leave anger out of the equation.

2-Pick the right time to discuss the issue.

3-Share why you want to resolve the conflict. (To dissolve the wedge, felt misunderstood, desire better communication, need to be on the same page, refresh committment.)

4-Apologize for contributing to the issue…sometimes both parties need to…and give forgiveness.

5-Decide to release the anger/disappointment…remember feelings follow actions most of the time.

6-Take a walk or do some activity right after talking…it helps to clear the slate and establish the new place your relationship stands now…fresh and honest and healing.

7-Give space for both parties to put their best foot forward.  Don’t bring it up again.

8-Practice releasing and blessing the person each time the hurtful feelings arise…and one day you’ll notice you are so far past the fault factor!!

It happened to me just last week.  It was not long after breakfast and I was mentally planning out a nice, quiet writing day, when the phone rang.  The scheduled speaker at a meeting that very morning where eighty to ninety people would be present had had to cancel out.  Could I possibly speak instead?

Well, in the end I said I could.  After all, I did have a talk I had given at a similar venue.  Besides, it would obviously help out the organisers of the event.  So, after gathering my notes and books together and quickly getting dressed, I was off.

When I arrived, the group co-ordinator could not get over the fact I had actually made it and was prepared to speak at such short notice.  It was truly weird, she kept saying – quite bizarre, in fact – as if there was a reason behind it!  You see, only the previous day I had emailed the organisation, telling them I was available for speaking engagements in 2010, if they wished to invite me.  It had been around a year since I had last spoken at one of their meetings, so I assumed they must have enough speakers.  Either that – or I wasn’t quite what they wanted!  I had almost talked myself out of emailing, when suddenly I felt had to go ahead anyway.  They could only say thanks, but no thanks.  Imagine my surprise then, when the very next morning, after not hearing for a whole year, I was contacted to speak!

So … if I’d left it one more day before emailing, I would have been too late to help out.  If my email hadn’t been opened just before the frantic phone call was received, they would not have remembered I was still around.  If I’d had another appointment that day, I would have had to say no.  If I’d lived any further away, I wouldn’t have made it in time.  Could it be that God did indeed have a particular reason for my being there that morning?

Well, I duly spoke and sold a few of my novels, but it was the conversations that took place afterwards that were particularly significant.  I shared from the heart – and I hope my words encouraged those who shared equally from their own hearts about their struggles.  In the end, I went away so thankful for the unexpected privilege my morning had held.  I may never know the outcome, but I firmly believe that, by God’s grace, I was in the right place at the right time.  I was where God wanted me to be, doing what God wanted me to do – and that’s all that matters in the end, don’t you think?

At any given time 6 out of 10 US adults are thinking about starting their own business. Half of those will attempt to launch their own business. As I discuss in my eBook; 50 Ugly truths about starting your own business …and why you should do it anyway, they often enter into their own business with a false set of expectations. One of these false expectations is their “idea” is a product and even more disturbing is when they start investing to support their idea as a business. Recognizing the majority of those who launch a new business will fail within 18 months, one of the common contributors to their demise is not asking the right questions.

Before you ask friends and family for start up money, before you tap into your home equity and 401k, and definitely before you quit your day job…you need to play “20 questions”.

You must verify your “idea” can be monetized into a viable business before you launch.

20 questions to ask before you invest;

#1 what problem does your product or service solve?

#2 how big of a market is there for this problem? This pain and or need?

#3 how are those who have this problem solving it now?

#4 clearly articulates your secret sauce, other words what is your unique selling proposition?

#5 is there replacement products in existence that could solve the problem?

#6 who is the market leader in the space you plan to enter?

#7 how many other competitors are there in this space?

#8 what is your level of understanding of this market?

#9 is your idea a product or IP that can be patented?

#10 what stage is this market in terms of its lifecycle? Infancy, growth, mature..?

#11 what level of support will be required to serve this market? Do you personally have expertise in running a business?

#12 what are the distribution channels of this market?

#13 what is the buying cycle?

#14 what is the common payment terms for this market?

#15 Do the potential buyers of your new product have the ability to pay for it?

#16 is there any legal and or compliance issues this product must pass prior to launch?

#17 what do you estimate is the total costs per unit of sale, transaction

#18 what is the anticipated number of units sold in year one? What % of the market opportunity does this represent?

#19 what is the number of units needed to break even with your upfront investment?

#20 How much cash will you need, based on the buying cycle, the costs, payment terms and distribution channels to launch this product or service?

Once you have answers to the above we can start to have a good discussion about your new idea and how you may be able to monetize it. Unfortunately however far too often entrepreneurs get that rush, that “buck fever” and they stop asking rational , needed , questions and they attach their focus on the days when…

When they become millionaires…

When they are recognized in their community…

When they sell their business for millions and retire without a care in the world

All of these When’s can become a reality if you spend the time upfront understanding the market, its buyers and their needs.

Entrepreneurs must understand: You are not your market.

Although this idea you have may be so obvious to you, you can not assume nor extrapolate that assumption across the market without real market data.

If you have an idea, that may be the next iPod, do yourself a favor and play 20 questions before you invest one dime in making your idea a product or service.

How about your organization….

Do you launch new products or services because one of your Hippo’s says so, without market data?

Have you launched products that failed to meet ROI targets?

If you are in sales, how did it make you feel when you were given a goal, and told to make it happen …only to find out your marketing needed to “create a need for it”?

If you are the president or CEO, what processes and procedures do you have in place to insure your teams are asking at least 20 questions?

Market leaders understand the importance of building new products and services from the market need up, versus the ivory tower down.

Market losers have a; ready – fire – aim launch process.

I have heard entrepreneurs say; “any marketing is better than no marketing at all…” and they can say this…but they would be wrong! Entrepreneurial leaders must insure the marketing vehicles and tactics  they use support their brand and do not create an interruption.

Market leaders understand their buyers, their buying process and buying criteria.

Market leaders create sales velocity because everything they do has continuity with their brand.

Market losers create a variety of marketing tools and “throw them against the wall” of their market and wait to… “see what sticks”.

Market losers scare business away, and their energy and budgets are used to grow competitors’ businesses.

I Love being a Chase Bank customer.

I have used a number of banks over the years…Bank of America, Key Corp, and so on. However the service I get from Chase Bank seems to feel different, it’s as if they know me, and they answer my questions before I ask them. Just yesterday my wife and I met with Dennis at our local branch and he was obviously trained to serve his clients. When other banks have made us feel like we were putting their associates out , Dennis was like the Van’s Golf employees name tags that say “sure not problem” Even the experience of walking into one of their locations “feels” different in how you are greeted and guided to the right person to help you. So imagine my surprise after a doctor appointment to come out to my car and see a windshield flier under my wiper from Chase Bank. This was an interruption for me.

Marketing interruptions make current customers pause…and bad things happen when customers pause.

For example, at first I smiled and threw their flier in my trunk to throw away later. As I drove to my next appointment however my mind wandered…

I have been reading about banks in trouble

Is my bank…Chase Bank, in trouble?

Should I maybe check out Wells Fargo or maybe open an account with Bank America again just to play it safe?

Didn’t I just read they were downsizing?…. ut oh

However my mind quickly came to terms with what has a higher probability of truth; It was the end of August ( end of the month race to hit numbers), and some salesperson , a hunter by nature ( which is awesome) needed business. So as opposed to sitting in the branch waiting for business to come to them, they took initiative and made some purple fliers and more than likely spent hours in the 104 degree Arizona heat stuffing them under windshield wipers in hopes this would drive new business. I had a pizza shop as a client years ago that could ramp up or down his sales by the number of windshield fliers he would have his drivers place. It became a predictable outcome for him over time.

However, the way a pizza shop or even a gas station chases new business is significantly different than what I would expect from my trusted bank, and the two should never be confused.

As I discussed, entrepreneurial leaders have bad things happen when they “assume”. “Well if windshield fliers work for pizza shops and gas stations…why not…” The “why not” is whatever you do must be intentional and have continuity with your brand image, your brand promise in the minds of buyers in your market.

In defense of Chase Bank, I have had rogue sales guys and even sales managers do much worst over the years. As I said I have to smile that at least they tried! Leaders, no matter what the size of their organization, must remember;

If marketing does not create tools that help salespeople hit their objectives, sales will create their own…and although you appreciate their “be a part of the solution” attitude it may cause your market to pause. When markets experience a pause, an interruption in the brand image …bad things happens.

How about your company…..

Are your salespeople creating their own tools to hit their numbers?

…Are you sure?

What policies and procedures do you have in place to insure your brand image is protected and reinforced?

Have you ever had your salespeople create their own tools…tell me about it.

From the number of fliers blowing around in the parking lot now as “marketing litter” I could tell most of the people who had fliers under their wipers did not value this communication attempt by Chase Bank. I would be interested to know from Chase Bank if this tactic is a marketing approved new business program or if I was correct a local branch went off the marketing reservation. If this tactic does in fact drive needed new business at moth end that is greater the negative impact it has on their brand in the mind of the market.

“The Law of the Locker room”: after your work (out) is done, there is a high probability others too have seen this pain point the buyers in your market have that you set out to solve and will want to share that space. It does not mean you should quit, it just means; As an Entrepreneur never assume you are the only one who saw the problem and set out to make the pain go away.

As I have mentioned before, I like to work out first thing in the morning. If I wake up before the alarm as if often the case I can workout at my gym Mountainside Fitness at 4:30 am. What I like about working out so early is you pretty much have the gym to yourself. There are a few other crazy people there, but unlike Friday nights at 6:00 pm you can get your work done, without waiting on machines, and you are off to start your day.

What never ceases to amaze me is; “The Law of the Locker room”. Simply stated it goes something like this; no matter what time of day, or how little the number of the cars in the parking lot, nor how many lockers they have in the locker room, when your workout is done and you return to your locker…someone will have the locker right next to you, and you will have to share your space.

So what’s the relevance to entrepreneurs you might say? Well just last week I had lunch with two partners of a start up venture who asked for my help. They shared (an awesome product I plan to blog about after we launch) and I put a bit of a damper on their enthusiasm when I asked one simple question;

“Have you researched to see if others have seen the problem you are setting out to solve, and if so does any of them have patents that your new product violates?”

Entrepreneurs who see problems and set out to solve them must never assume they are the only one who sees this problem.

Entrepreneurs must never assume they are the only one who sees the market problem and they are the only one setting out to solve it.

Like the Disney ride my daughter loved when she was young that’s song still echo’s in my mind “it’s a small world after all…it’s a small, small, world.”

I recommend my clients: assume others are trying to solve this problem, have solved this pain, and ask yourself why a buyer should choose you over the others?

How do you know if others have or are setting out to solve this problem?

Google

Google your product as if it already was in the market. Google the problem you are setting out to solve. You definitely want to Google the name you plan to call your product. For example I will be launching a seminar to help entrepreneurs late this year. When I Goggled what I had planned to call “my” seminar there were 989,000 entries in Google. As I reviewed them further I found one person pretty much owns what I had planned to call my seminar. I could boldly launch as like most entrepreneurs as I am convinced the other content out there can’t be as good as mine…or I need a new name for my seminar that I can own.

The Market

If the need, the pain, you are trying to solve is big enough, ask people in the market how they make the pain go away today. Find out if what others in the space are doing completely solves your market’s pain, or is a just an incremental solution. What you will often find is most people, if presented with something can poke holes in it. If you are an entrepreneur you have learned what most people can not do it create solutions…that is your gift. So listen to your market, let them share their gifts and apply yours.

Patent Search

This part scares most start ups and seasoned pro’s alike but it is a must if you feel you have a unique product or service. What scares most are the perceived fees, and yes this can get expensive. But let me ask you a question;

What is more expensive in the long run, a Patent search before you launch…or finding out after you launch (and you invest your 401k, loans from family and friends, and use your home equity) that you violate someone else’s patent?

Remember “The Law of the Locker room”: after your work (out) is done, there is a high probability others too have seen this pain point the buyers in your market have. It does not mean you should quit, it just means;

As an Entrepreneur never assume you are the only one who saw the problem and set out to make the pain go away.

How about your organization…..

Has your team launched something only to find many others in that space…after you launched?

How did that make your sales guys feel?

How do you think it made you look in the eyes of your current customers and the market that you did not know?

Have you ever designed-built-launched a perfect solution to your buyer’s pain only to be shut down by a patent violation? (I have, when I did not have grey hair and it sucked!)

The good news is you have the “Entrepreneurial DNA Gene”; you too have a spider sense to see and want to solve pains your buyers have.

They say “reasonable people if given accurate information make reasonable decisions” so please take a few extra steps before you invest and launch your product or service.

And if you do, you can thank me by forwarding a link of this post to your other 9 entrepreneur buddies who may not know the law of the locker room…it’s a small small world after all…

Watching the current 2009 Health Care Reform Initiative has valuable lessons for all leaders throughout the world if we take time to pay attention. I think it was Einstein who said “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. The current 2009 Health Care Reform Initiative has strong emotional attachments regardless of which side of the debate you reside.

It is often the life lessons with emotional attachments we remember most.

The goal of my last series of blog posts was to share business lessons leaders can learn from watching and living the 2009 Health Care Reform Initiative. I tried to focus on the business principles and not take a partisan view. If you have read any of my posts you will not be surprised to learn I am a Christian, American, and Republican….in that order. I am proud to be an American and I admit we can always improve as a nation, however having traveled the world I can say first hand how blessed I feel to live in the United States.

As for our President, I follow what our Lord taught us in the Bible and I pray for him. I pray the Lord gives him and all our leaders wisdom, discernment, and the courage to act upon what the Lord instructs him to do.( and not those of this world) I have received a number of emails since launching this blog thread. A number of those felt I was “bashing” our President, and if my word choice made you feel that way I apologize.

As a man, I have no problem with President Obama and if asked I would welcome the opportunity to be a part of the solution.

As our leader I must follow him, support him. If he loses, I lose…we all lose.

What I challenge is the process of this initiative.

My intension was to ;

“focus on the problem and not the person”

There are a number of lessons we can glean from watching life lessons before us.

I am sure there are many more lessons if thought leaders wish to add content:

• the impact of social media on the 2009 Health Care reform Initiative

• Lessons in leadership when a launch goes bad

• The cost(s) of change

• The psychology of change

• When tempers flair seek first to understand and find common ground

• …and I am sure there are many more

12 Lessons All Leaders Can Learn About Launching New Products and Services …From the 2009 Health Care Reform?

#1: Without a Clear Definition of the Problem You Want to Solve, You Will Experience “Scope Creep” and Your Launch Plan Will Fail

#2: Without a Clear Definition of the Problem You Want to Solve, you cannot write good requirements for your development team

#3: Without a Clear Understanding of the Problems to be Solved, and Requirements, Development will Build Solutions Because They Can and Not Because They Should!

#4: Your Previous New Product Launch success (or Failures) Affect Current and Future Launches

#5: Without a Clear understanding of the Problems your New Product Solves, Marketing will resort to “Buzz Word Bingo” and “Gobbledygook”

#6: Without a Road Map Your “Administration” Will Attempt Too Much, Too Fast and Not Achieve Any of Your Goals

#7: Asking…and not listening to your market, is worst than not asking at all…

#8; Buyers Become Tone Deaf to Lazy Marketing Messaging

#9; Make Sure Your Marketing Has All the “Rights” Covered…Fix the Right Problem

#10, #11, #12; Make Sure Your Marketing Has All the “Rights” Covered…right time, right customer, right offer

What other lessons have you learned, or are learning as we watch the 2009 Health Care Reform Imitative?

Is your organization making some of the same mistakes? Why?

Are you about to Launch a New Product or Service and you adjusted your plan based on the above 10 posts? If so which posts and how?

How can we unite as Americans and stop Blame Storming?

Do you feel I was wrong to use this real life emotionally charged lesson to blog about? Why, Why not?

A basic marketing tenant says make sure you have all the “rights” covered in your New Product launch, New Service Launch. I discussed solving the right problem in my last post and that leaves the following “rights”; Right Time, Right Customer(s), and Right Offer(s).

Failure to nail all the rights puts your new product and or service launch results in jeopardy of missing ROI targets. Let’s take a quick look at these “rights”.

Right Time      

One of the difficulties the Obama administration faced when launching the 2009 Health Care reform initiative was bad timing.

Like companies who have launched products in their markets before they were ready, or failed to meet the expectation set by marketing and sales, the Obama administration could not have launched at a worst time. They followed a failed stimulus from the Bush administration, a failed stimulus from the Obama administration, and they tried to begin their launch in the worst economic conditions the United States has seen arguably since the Great Depression.

When you launch products that are not complete solutions, or are not solving a specific problem, your market at first becomes suspicious, and if you repeat the insanity (doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results) you eventually break the trust in your Brand. When trust is broken you turn loyal customers into shoppers again.

Market leaders understand the importance the right timing plays in hitting their new product launch goals and the ROI’s promised the board and or shareholders.

Market Losers are so in love with their new product they fail to listen, they fail to send out market soundings and often their launches crash into the rocks of bad timing

.

Right Customer       

In the Book Tuned In the authors discuss how to determine if the problem you are trying to solve should even be considered for development. They discuss the need to determine if the problem is urgent, pervasive (a bunch of folks have it) and most important, is your market willing to pay to solve it?

As we look at the “market “of US consumers we have distinguishable groups that can be segmented: Gen Y’s, Gen X’s, Baby Boomers, and Retired Consumers, consumers without health insurance,…just to name a few.

When you launch a new solution the burden is on you and your organization to clearly understand the problems of each market segment and solve them.

Once you solve problems the burden is also on you to clearly articulate the problem(s) you solved in the voice of the market.

Market Leaders understand the importance of segmenting their markets and speaking to each segment in a voice that they understand.

Market Losers launch with one size fits all solutions that require a salesperson to interpret, and fail to be understood and therefore Miss ROI targets.

Right Offer       

When you thoroughly solve problem(s) for specific segmented groups in your market, you create offers that are made to stick. The offer is clear and does not require a rocket scientist or an attorney to understand. These perfect solutions instantly connect and become viral in all your targeted market communities. Social media picks up your solution and cannot wait to share how you solved the problem.

Market Leaders understand and value the impact social media can play in a successful Product launch.

Market Losers use Ready-Fire- Aim new product launches that, not surprisingly end in disaster.

Market Losers do not understand the power of Social Media and how it can be a valuable ally or an incredible foe that literally can cause you to go out of business.

How about your business….

Do you have all the “rights” covered in your next new product and or serve launch?

Are you living a launch disaster now?…tell us about it…

Have you successfully launched a product without having all the “rights” covered? If so, tell us about it.

Do you have clearly defined solutions or are you practicing “Agile Product Launches” …how’s that working for your shareholder value?

Are there other “rights” we need to consider?…Right Channel?….

Stable political and socio economic environment
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Privileged strategic location
- At the cross roads of North America and South Africa
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- Flights from South Africa, Brazil, North America, Portugal,
Italy, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands
A progressive outward looking market
- Encouragement of quality development and tourism
Strong potential for capital growth
- Still largely undiscovered
Ease of investment
- We provide clients with a turnkey solution which
includes access to local legal services
- Currency is tied to the Euro
Year round sunshine
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- Water temp no cooler than 21oC
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- Low rainfall – 75 mm per year

We’re currently able to offer discounted accommodation and air fare, so why not complete the form below and let one of our agents check availablity and contact you?

The Jam-Tex selector will post a study and organization of the essential tracks of reggae music. The selector invites others to join in on the organization of these tracks.  Thus Jam-Tex presents “The World of Reggae Music Collection.” This collection of singles begins with the greatest roots reggae hits in a category  entitled “Reggae’s Superstars – The Lions of Jah.”

The Reggae Superstars category includes the section: “The Lions of Jah.” The Lions of Jah section includes the pillars of reggae music, such as Bob Marley & the Wailers, Burning Spear, Dennis Brown, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & the Maytals, Jacob Miller, Peter Tosh, Max Romeo, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Bunny Wailer, Desmond Dekker, Freddie McGregor, Horace Andy, Barrington Levy, Beres Hammond, and features supergroups like  Third World, Black Uhuru, Steel Pulse, and Culture. The grouping of songs includes classic vocal groups like the Mighty Diamonds, Wailing Souls, and the Itals, and early deejay and singjay sensations like Big Youth, Tenor Saw, and Half Pint.  Yet overall this category relies on the heavy hitters of reggae music like  John Holt, Gregory Isaacs, Lucky Dube, Johnny Osbourne, and Cornell Campbell.

Please feel free to comment. The selector is open to suggestions and changes. Feel free to comment on the selections, categories, genre headings, and section headings. The selector will consider track additions and removals and even the renaming of categories, sections, and genres. Without further ado…

The Jam-Tex Selector presents…The World of Reggae Music Collection

Reggae’s Superstars: The Lions of Jah

1. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Get Up, Stand Up
2. Toots & the Maytals – 54-46 That’s My Number
3. Peter Tosh – Steppin’ Razor
4. Jimmy Cliff – The Harder They Come
5. Burning Spear - Old Marcus Garvey
6. Third World – Reggae Ambassador
7. Black Uhuru & the Revolutionaries – Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
8. Culture – Two Sevens Clash
9. Desmond Dekker – 007 (Shanty Town)
10. Barrington Levy – Too Experienced
11. Lee “Scratch” Perry – Chase The Devil
12. Lee “Scratch” Perry – Disco Devil
13. Steel Pulse – Handsworth Revolution
14. Steel Pulse - Revolution Dub
15. Gregory Isaacs & Roots Radics – Night Nurse
16. Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse Dub
17. Ini Kamoze – World-A-Music
18. Dennis Brown – Here I Come Again (aka Have No Fear)
19. Wailing Souls – Shark Attack
20. Mighty Diamonds – Right Time
21. Jacob Miller & Inner Circle – Westbound Train
22. Horace Andy – Skylarking
23. Freddie McGregor – Big Ship
24. Max Romeo & the Upsetters – War Ina Babylon
25. Israel Vibration - Get Up and Go
26. Toots & the Maytals – Funky Kingston
27. Jacob Miller & Inner Circle – We A Rockers
28. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Rebel Music (Three O’Clock Roadblock)
29. Burning Spear – Columbus
30. Lucky Dube – We Love It
31. Jimmy Cliff – You Can Get It If You Really Want
32. Barrington Levy – Saw Red
33. Peter Tosh – Whatcha Gonna Do
34. Steel Pulse – Uncle George
35. Dennis Brown – Wolves And Leopards
36. The Heptones – Book of Rules
37. Cornell Campbell – The Gorgon
38. Mighty Diamonds – Identity
39. Beres Hammond & Zap Pow – Last War
40. Toots & the Maytals - Time Tough
41. Culture – Iron Sharpening Iron
42. Dennis Brown – Stop the Fussing & Fighting
43. Steel Pulse – Ravers
44. Half Pint – Level The Vibes
45. Beres Hammond – They Gonna Talk
46. John Holt & the Aggravators – You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine/Version
47. Jacob Miller & U-Brown – Keep On Knocking
48. Bunny Wailer – Blackheart Man
49. The Heptones – Party Time
50. Bob Andy – I’ve Got To Go Back Home
51. Burning Spear - The Invasion (Aka Black Wa Da Da)
52. The Itals – In A Dis Ya Time/ Harbour View Rock
53. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Is This Love
54. Johnny Osbourne & the Sensations – Come Back Darling
55. The Pioneers – Long Shot
56. Toots & the Maytals – Pressure Drop
57. Black Uhuru – Party Next Door
58. Gregory Isaacs – Sad To Know (You’re Leaving)
59. Peter Tosh – Wanted Dread And Alive (2002 Digital Remaster)
60. Cornell Campbell – Queen Of The Minstrel
61. Big Youth – Livin’
62. Burning Spear – Rise Up
63. Tenor Saw – Lots of Sign
64. Black Uhuru – Black Uhuru Anthem
65. Jacob Miller – Mixed Up Moods
66. Steel Pulse – Blues Dance Raid (LP Version)
67. Barrington Levy, Kojak & Liza – My Woman/ Ten Thousand Woman
68. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Rat Race
69. Jimmy Cliff – Struggling Man
70. The Heptones – Fattie Fattie
71. Horace Andy – Nice And Easy
72. Mighty Diamonds – Have Mercy
73. Black Uhuru – Rent Man
74. Sammy Dread – My Princess
75. Chalice – Good to Be There
76. Culture & Shorty the President – See Them A Come/ Natty Pass Him G.C.E.
77. Cornell Campbell – Boxing Around
78. Glen Washington – Rockers (Nuh Crackers)
79. Johnny Ousborne – Truths and Rights
80. John Holt – Strange Things
81. Dennis Brown – What About The Half
82. Jimmy Riley – Love And Devotion
83. Burning Spear – Jordan River
84. Third World – Roots With Quality
85. The Itals – Brutal Out Deh
86. Peter Tosh - Why Must I Cry
87. Culture – Lion Rock
88. Barrington Levy – My Time
89. Steel Pulse - Back To My Roots / Dub To My Roots
90. Gregory Isaacs – Stranger In Town
91. Dennis Brown – Ghetto Girl
92. The Wailing Souls – War Deh Round A John Shop
93. Jacob Miller – Chapter A Day
94. Beres Hammond – What One Dance Can Do
95. Max Romeo - One Step Forward (Album Version)
96. Lucky Dube - Prisoner
97. Israel Vibration - Back Staba
98. Lee “Scratch” Perry & the Heptones – Why Must I (Version)
99. Ed Robinson – Rude Awakening
100. Jimmy Cliff - Treat The Youths Right

I got to attend this year’s Reggae on the River Festival in Southern Humboldt County, California. The festival had a great local community feel and funds raised went to support the Mateel Community Center in Redway, California. The Eel River flowed through the picturesque venue located at Benbow State Recreational Area. Reggae on the River celebrated its 25th Anniversary in fine style. Positive vibrations flowed all day long. Soul Majestic played early in the day bringing their brand of soul-drenched reggae to the stage. The track “First Light“ set the vibe and songs like “Rough N’ Tuff ” displayed the musical prowess of this young group. Soul Majestic also played the single “Better World,” which dovetails nicely with their positive vibe and eco-friendly message.

Queen Omega ignited the stage with soul, dancehall, and roots reggae. A native of Trinidad and Tobago Queen Omega sang “Love Ya Color,” “Judgement,” “Warning,” and “Ganja Baby” to an appreciative crowd.  The Roots Revealers bought Jamaican dancehall to northern California playing the songs “Long Road” and “No More Killing.”

The crowd-pleasing crown princess of roots reggae Etana turned it up a notch dropping the killer hits “Roots” and “Blessing.” The lovely songstress covered some Bob Marley and the Wailers tunes creating a wonderful vibe with the classic “One Drop.” Etana played some tracks from her newest hit album The Strong One performing “Jah Chariot” and “Don’t Forget,” and “Caltariba System.” And I was pleasantly surprised by Etana’s cover of the Beatles “Don’t Let Me Down.” Etana finished her set singing “I Am Not Afraid,” which is from one of my favorite riddims: the “Rub-A-Dub” riddim. 

The legendary vocal group from Jamaica The Abyssinians took the stage under the afternoon sun. Roots reggae filled the air with classic tunes like “Y Mas Gan,” “African Race,” “Let My Days Be Long,”  ”Meditation,” and “Know Jah Today.” The Abyssinians took us to the Bible and the book of Daniel with “Abendigo,” turning the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo into a wonderful reggae and dub experience. And of course the reggae legends performed their megahits from the Satta Massagana album, including “Peculiar Number,” “Black Man’s Strain,” “Declaration Of Rights,” “Forward Unto Zion,” and “Satta Massagana.”

The Abyssinians at Reggae on the River 2009

The Abyssinians Dancing at Reggae on the River 2009

Tanya Stephens livened things up with a raunchy-rough riding performance that included plenty of references to “long ding dongs” with high-energy versions of “Boom Wuk” and “Good Ride.” The dancehall favorite “Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet” set a playful vibe and then she played the killer singles “Can’t Breathe,” “It’s A Pity,” and “These Streets.” Stephens showed her soulful side too with songs like “What Ah Day” and ”Little White Lie.” But it seemed Stephens dominated with the playful tunes like ”Tek Him Back” and “To The Rescue.”

Tanya Stephens at Reggae on the River 2009

Tanya Stephens at Reggae on the River 2009, California

Then the Yellow Wall Dub Squad took the stage to warm it up for The Mighty Diamonds. The bassist sang the song “Overlaod” and then King David sang a reggae version of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” The Mighty Diamonds entered the stage and played “Poor Marcus Garvey” and “Rise Up” from the album titled Rise Up. The roots reggae gems “Have Mercy,” “Right Time,” “Africa,” and “I Need A Roof” all made the set list. The “I Need A Roof” jam extended and transitioned into a cover of the Bob Marley’s anthem “Get Up, Stand Up.” An extended version of “Pass The Kutchie” and a sweet version of the Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions tune “It’s All Rightt” capped off the set. Etana, The Abyssinians, Soul Majestic, Queen Omega, and The Mighty Diamonds then returned to the stage and all performed together for a finale. The all-star group of reggae performers sang the Bob Marley and the Wailers classic hit “One Love / People Get Ready.”

The Eel River at Reggae on the River 2009

Dancin' Crowd at Reggae on the River 2009

Usapang pag-ibig tayo ngayon! Charuus!

Bakit kapag umuuwi na lang ako laging tinatanong ng mga tao kung may boyfriend na ba ako?

Sabi nga ni Ten, “Requirement ba yun?”

Pag sinabi ko naman sa pamilya na wala, hindi maniniwala. Pipilitin na meron.

Eh pag sinabi ko naman sigurong meron, magagalit! Ay naku! Kalurkee!

Definition of terms:

churchur = lablayp (pwedeng seryoso, fling, one-sided, o kung ano man yan, basta usapang puso!)

Teorya numero uno: pag 4 years ang course mo, 3rd year ka magkakachurchur. Pag 5 years naman, 4th year darating si churchur mo.

So far, yan ang nangyayari sa mga taong malapit sa’kin.

Nangunguna sina Jack and Jill, exclusively dating (o ha, san ko kaya nakuha yang term na yan!) ata yung mga yun. Parang sila, astang sila, sa kilos, sa salita, nagseselosan na nga. Pero dahil “ayaw” pa ni Jill, wala pang officiality (may salitang officiality ba? hehehe…). Namimiss ko na nga ang dalawang ‘to eh. matagal ko na din silang di nakikita. Basta, no comment na ako. ^_^

Si Redeity, isang storya ng unrequited love. Iniiyakan niya pala yun. Masakit isipin ang mga “what if” na pangyayari. At hanggang ngayon, pakiramdam ko, nagtataka pa rin siya kung bakit biglang naging ganun ang mga pangyayari. Kung bakit parang biglang nauwi sa wala ang lahat. Bakit pati ang pagiging magkaibigan ay ipinagkait sa kanya? Grabe na ito mga kapatid, di kaya ng powers ko ang kaseryosohan ng mga katagang ito!

Si Ten naman, may nagtatapat ata dun bawat buwan! Ayyy! Ang haba ng hair ng lola mo! Pero bilib ako sa willpower nito. Kahit nahihirapan nang umiwas sa mga may potensyal na boylets, kahit minsan, gusto rin naman niya, matatag pa rin ang paninindigan ng lola mo! *isang masigabong palakpakan naman dyan!*

Si Coach naman, na gusto si Krissie. Sus me, di ko na alam pano ko ba tutulungan ang taong to. Siyempre, basted. Nilulunod ang sarili niya sa sakit. Sana eh makapag-move on ka na Coach. Kung susunda natin ang teorya ni Erik Erikson, ikaw ay nasa intimacy vs isolation stage na nga development. Naway malampasan mo ng maayos ang stage na yan. Makulay ang mundo, masayang mabuhay. We always have a choice. *charuuus!*

Si Bred, eto ang wala pa. Teorya namin, ngayong taon mabubuo ang kwentong churchur nito. Hihintayin namin yan! heheheh..

Naku, ako na ba, hindi naman makulay ang buhay-churchur ko. May isang kaibigang nagtapat. Pero siyempre, dahil alam niya namang wala talaga sa plano ko sa ngayon ang mga churchur, kaya ayun,. sabi niya, sapat na daw na malaman ko ang nararamdaman niya. Charing! Ayyy! Naloka ako!

Seriously though, you might be wondering why we have this issues. I mean, what’s wrong with having a boyfriend (or girlfriend)? My friends and I are in college already, ya know…

Hmmm…how do I put this….It’s just that for us, it is NOT the right time yet. At least for that kind of intimacy. I know, it’s one of the stands that young christians seem to have and it turns other people off. Really, people have the impression that if you are into church and stuff like that, it’s bawal (tamang translation ba ang forbidden??).

It’s not. Really. It’s just that when you somehow understand God’s way of dealing with things, especially in the LOVE department, you’d know that everything has it’s own time. Right now, we have other priorities. For one, as students, we should excel in our academics. Hindi ko naman sinasabing hadlang ang pag-ibig sa pag-aaral, okay? I believe that we are still in the MOLDING season. We aren’t even in the waiting season yet! We still have a loonnngg way to go.

Joei Gayares

As a good friend of mine, [Ate] Joei Gayares, put it, the reasons behind NBSB (No-Boyfriend-Since-Birth) Joei are:

1. God has prepared someone for me. His best. And God doesn’t want me to give this heart away until he (the man) asks me from Him (God). Why settle for anything less?

2. In the waiting period, I have to be molded to the woman God wants me to be, the woman after His own heart. He’ll make me the best that I can be so that I will be an honor to the man He will someday give me.

3. The time is not yet ripe. “Do not awaken love until it pleases,” cried the Songs of Solomon. In God’s perfect time, He will arrange for everything. Everything will work out as He pleases. He’ll author the story.

While some share the joy of my waiting, and others think it’s just wishful thinking, I hold on to my true Lover in God. He’s got the pen on my future love story. True love waits. And the best romance can only be put to life by the One who is Love Himself.

God assured me that he is worth all the waiting. So I promise by faith that I will be pure until the hour appointed, until God says, “Here he is…”

Yupyup, Ate Joei’s right.

Mind you, it is NOT easy.

In our age, the need “to love and be loved” is strong, as evidenced by the growing number of chick flicks my friends and I watch. Hehehe…

It’s hard to say no to a guy that you actually like. It’s hard to stay away from persistent suitors whose methods of courting melts all your kilig bones. It’s hard not to try out the holding-hands-while-walking-pa-sway-sway-pa, the I-luv-u-nytie-nyt-sweet-drmz messages, the mushy love talks, the MUs (mutual understanding-slash-malabong usapan), the summer flings, the one night stands (okay, one night stands are exagg!). After all, the world says there’s nothing wrong with all that. The media’s not helping either. Grabe laaannggg, even eleven year olds have boyfriends! Plus the textmates, the chatmates, the penpals (may ganun pa ba?). Ganun na ba kadesperado ang mundo at okay lang sa kanila ang “virtual” relationship??!!!!! Sadly, sadly, the world IS desperate for love. And it’s looking for love in all the wrong places.

Everyday, I see couples in the campus, in the dorm, (in various shapes and sizes! mwahahahha). And I know that they are the norm. We are the exception. And sometimes, it’s so tempting to just succumb to the norm. It feels good, from what I hear. May gift pag valentines, may tagahatid sa gabi, may tagadala ng bag, may tagapunas ng pawis (LOL!), may shoulder to cry on (charing!), may tagagawa ng assignment (pwede!), may taga-load! mwahahaha!. Kung may naiisip ka pa, icomment mo! heheheh…

But really, every time I see the singles in church courageously taking their stand to wait for God’s best, to allow God to reign even in that area of their lives; and every time I see the couples who are in a relationship blessed by God, I feel secure. I feel empowered to wait for my turn. For now, I am a work in progress. And just as I always say, I am worth waiting for. And like me, the man God has intended for me is also worth the wait.

So for now, kontento muna ako sa aking sangkatutak na crushes! Grabe, and hirap humanap ng crushables sa educ! Rare dun ang crushable na sigurado kang lalake talaga! Ahhhhh…..!!!

A mix between Chromeo and Under The Influence Of Giants comes the new age funk wave that is keeping the dance scene alive. These tracks are very well done and emulate so many of the qualities that make funk one of the sickest genres of music. Gentlemen Hall and Illumination are taking things to the next level with a sense of Dance mixed in with their groovy vibe. Give them a listen.

Listen: Gentlemen Hall – Stun Gun

Illumination – Right Time

Special Thanks to AC

Why are opportunities are not translated into success?

Have you ever heard the saying “to achieve success, you must be at the right place, at the right time? Does that ensure success? I say, not always.

You must aware that you are at the right place at the right time. But it that everything? Again, not always. What if you don’t take action to turn the opportunity to turn it into a success?

Why don’t we act on opportunities even when we see them?

As a LifeSuccess Consultant and long term student of Bob Proctor, I have the privilege to meet people from many different companies and groups through speaking, seminars, training, events and masterminds.

It is always interesting to observe the mindset of groups of people in reference to human potential and translating that into monetary and other success.

Recently I was in attendance of a soft launch of a network distribution company that will literally take the world by storm. That may be a bold statement, but it’s a bold company backed by bold people who want to help take back the American dream.

Here’s the part that was of interest- At the end of the soft launch, after meeting the owners of the company, seeing the genius behind this company in terms of stellar products, a bold brand with global recognition literally at the right time (economic recession) at the right place.

The group was asked to stand up and declare their intentions.
As a success tool, this is very powerful. It may seem dumb to some but it works.

The declarations started at the learning levels and worked up. No one was required just to pick one they could stand up for all of them.

Here’s what happened. More people stood up for learning levels and as it went up the success ladder, fewer and fewer people stood up. There were only a handful that stood up the whole time.

Interesting.

Every single person in that room should or could have been standing up the whole time because of what they have in their hands. Literally everyone in that room can become wealthy and even financially independent, leaving a legacy for generations to come. It’s a no brainer.

Why wasn’t everyone standing?
Afraid to stand up ? What would people think?
Don’t believe In themselves?
In their ability?
Afraid to try ?
Afraid to dream?
They don’t know how they would do it?

To me, what happened was that most of the people in that room didn’t know the difference between goal setting and goal achieving. They are two entirely different things.

There are four common mistakes that people make when goal setting.
If you violate any one of these, your are doomed to fail. That’s what I saw in that room… lack of understanding. The funny thing is, it is simple to overcome.

Debby McKinney, LifeSuccess Consultant, marketer, speaker, author, business advisor and dynamic entrepreneur is a down to earth person who has faced real challenges in her life but through faith and the principles of success has not only transformed herself but is on a mission to share with others …success in any economy.

www.DebbyMcKinney.com

William F. Buckley, Jr., recently deceased conservative intellectual, is the subject of two new books by two different successors: Losing Mum and Pup, by his son Christopher, and Right Time, Right Place by his one-time heir-apparent Richard Brookhiser. The younger Buckley’s book is noted here previously; Brookhiser’s take on the man is largely devoid of Mum and Pup’s sentiment and humanity, owing perhaps to its author’s eventual fall from grace within W. Buckley’s circle, but it’s a worthwhile read for its insider’s look at Buckley’s magazine, National Review, and for its unsparing portrait of the man himself.   

Buckley, who famously declared he would rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the faculty of Harvard University, took Brookhiser under his wing as a young man, publishing Brookhiser’s first essay (defending American foreign policy in Vietnam) when its author was only 15 years old. Brookhiser wrote continuously for the magazine for the next decade or so, eventually putting off law school to join the staff of National Review at Buckley’s urging. Brookhiser alleges being offered Buckley’s editor-in-chief desk.

William F. Buckley, Jr.

Right Time, Right Place charts Brookhiser’s rise and decline in the magazine, and in Buckley’s inner circle, with both admiration and pragmatism; he notes Buckley, who wrote more than 50 novels and over 4,000 columns, “took so many at-bats that it depressed his average.” But of “Firing Line,” the long-running political talk show Buckley hosted, Brookhiser is more admiring. Describing Buckley’s left-leaning guests, for whom the show was often their only media outlet and who often left eviscerated, Brookhiser writes: “Buckley gave them this opportunity only to try to beat them up. But he did give them the ­opportunity (honor comes only from victory over worthy opponents).”

Brookhiser’s future at National Review was cut short by a letter marked “confidential” left on his desk one day, in which Buckley had written, “It is now plain to me that you are not suited to serve as editor-in-chief of NR after my retirement. This sentence will no doubt have for a while a heavy effect on your morale, and therefore I must tell you that I have reached this ­conclusion irrevocably. You have no executive flair. It is not, really, desirable that I should document this, and I have kept no notebooks on the ­subject; but it simply is not there.”

Given his abrupt short-shrifting, Brookhiser’s book is surprising for its moments of warmth and overall admiration for his mentor. His reflects on moments which might have hurt his relationship with Buckley (a long memorandum critiquing Buckley’s spy novels harshly, and public disdain for Buckley’s brief Presidential aspirations), but then thaws, noting:

“What I did not realize about Bill’s novels, which did not work, or his run for the White House, which never happened, was that he wanted my good opinion almost as much as I wanted his. Because he was so powerful, and because I idealized him so, I wrongly assumed that he was invulnerable. Sons misunderstand their fathers as much as fathers misunderstand their sons.”

Richard Brookhiser.