The week in review - August 10, 2018

Monday - "Just a darn minuet (or two)" The minuet in G major. "I did a FB post on Sunday night based on the Minuet in G Major, which had been attributed to J.S. Bach but it has recently been attributed to Christian Petzold. I included a few videos of different versions of the song, but I also incorrectly included a different Minuet in G by Beethoven."

Tuesday - "The Life of a Dragon — The Untold Story of Bruce Lee" From a podcast on The Art of Manliness. "As some of you may know, I knew Bruce Lee. He lived across the street from me when I was growing up in Oakland, CA."

Wednesday - "Criticism Challenges Creativity" From Harvey Mackay. "You may never paint a Mona Lisa or draw the Vitruvian Man, but what inspiration his creativity offers! Start your day with a healthy dose of Vitamin C – Creativity – and watch what happens!"

Thursday - "Networking the Network #TBT" How to network the right way! "How do you make yourself more valuable to your network? There are several ways but probably the most powerful is by referring business to members of your network, either directly or by sharing their posts on Facebook, if they're on Facebook. Or tagging them in your own FB posts. The more value that you add to your network, the more value your network will add to you."

Interesting days

Today - Lazy Day, Skyscraper Appreciation Day, Earth Overshoot Day, S’mores Day, Duran Duran Appreciation Day and World Lion Day

Tomorrow - Son and Daughter Day, Ingersoll Day, Garage Sale Day, Play In The Sand Day and Middle Child’s Day

Next Friday - Thrift Shop Day, Men’s Grooming Day, Black Cat Appreciation Day and Vanilla Custard Day

September 10 - Swap Ideas Day, Boss/Employee Exchange Day, World Suicide Prevention Day and TV Dinner Day

Networking the Network #TBT

This post was originally published last year. Unfortunately, the link to Mark's call isn't working anymore!

Today's post is based on two SendOutCards calls on Monday by two members of my upline...Mark Herdering and Jordan Adler. Even though these are SOC calls, the information on both are applicable to anyone in business...especially if you do any networking.

Both Mark and Jordan talk about BNI - Business Network International. If you've done any networking, then I'm sure you've heard of BNI. Mark and Jordan have both belonged to BNI, and Mark is actually in the process of starting a new BNI chapter up in Portland. And Jordan has Nate & Kelley Dominguez, Executive Directors of BNI in Arizona as guests on his Zoom video conference. I'm not a member of BNI, although I've been a guest at several chapters.

The subject of both calls are how to make yourself more valuable to your network and how to network through your network...not to your network. I've talked about this before.

How do you make yourself more valuable to your network? There are several ways but probably the most powerful is by referring business to members of your network, either directly or by sharing their posts on Facebook, if they're on Facebook. Or tagging them in your own FB posts. The more value that you add to your network, the more value your network will add to you.

Take an hour out of your day and listen to Mark's call and watch Jordan's Zoom conference and find out how you can use networking to build your business.

Interesting days

Today - Melon Day, Rice Pudding Day and Book Lovers Day

Tomorrow - Earth Overshoot Day, S'mores Day, Skyscraper Appreciation Day, Duran Duran Appreciation Day, Lazy Day and World Lion Day

Next Thursday - Tell A Joke Day, Rum Day, Wave At The Surveillance Cameras Day, World Bratwurst Day, Airborne Day and Rollercoaster Day

September 9 - Hug Your Hound Day, Grandparent’s Day, Worldwide Candle Lighting Day, Wienerschnitzel Day, Wonderful Weirdos Day and Teddy Bear Day

Criticism Challenges Creativity

Today's post is based on an email from Harvey Mackay.

The great American filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille said, “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.”

As I’ve said in the past, I always try to start each day with a healthy dose of vitamin C – Creativity. I believe that creative ideas and actions are what make life interesting.

More important than drugs and vitamins is having a thick skin and being unfazed by criticism.

I used to be much more creative than I am now and I think part of the reason is that I've never been able to take criticism well. This blog is about the only thing I do these days that can be considered even somewhat creative.

Even the most unstoppable ideas in history have been criticized. Here are some of the more memorable ones:

“Mr. Bell, please remove that silly toy from my office. There is no room in the market for a telephone.” 

“Watches with no hands? You’re crazy.” 

“You can’t put a crocodile on a shirt to replace the pocket. Nobody will buy them.” 

“You want to sell me a chicken recipe? You’ll never get this idea off the ground, Colonel Sanders.”

“I’m sorry, but your ‘Gone with the Wind’ manuscript will have little public appeal.” 

“How dumb do you think I am – You can’t put music on a roll of tape.”

I'm personally pretty happy that the first one succeeded...this Saturday will be my 38th anniversary with AT&T!

Creativity doesn’t run in a straight line. It can run into roadblocks. They’re not always obvious. You may have to go around them or over them, or tunnel beneath them. But first you have to recognize them. Among the obstacles you need to steer clear of:

• Excessive rationality.
• Obsession with size.
• Need to be productive.
• Fear of (fill in the blank).

And Harvey wrapped it up by talking about the Renaissance:

One of the most prolific periods of creativity in history occurred during the Renaissance from the 14th – 17th centuries in Europe. According to a Huffington Post article by Anurag Harsh, people realized that creativity wasn’t some divine gift, but instead a talent that could be cultivated.

Among his points, he said Renaissance thinkers were contrarian. They didn’t settle for the status quo, they challenged conventional wisdom and took new approaches to the world.

In addition, they were nonconformists. They wanted to revolutionize the culture in technology, the arts and philosophy. Harsh also contends they were curious and questioned everything. They dismissed the tried and true in favor of novel ideas.

Finally, he said that instead of limiting themselves to a single area of knowledge, they connected different ways of thinking that led to advances in science, art and many other areas.

Consider Leonardo da Vinci, the ultimate symbol of the Renaissance, who was interested in invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history and cartography.

You may never paint a Mona Lisa or draw the Vitruvian Man, but what inspiration his creativity offers! Start your day with a healthy dose of Vitamin C – Creativity – and watch what happens!

Mackay’s Moral: Creativity, not necessity, is the true mother of invention.

Interesting days 

Today - International Cat Day, Happiness Happens Day, Bowling Day, Odie Day and Scottish Wildcat Day

Tomorrow - Melon Day, Book Lovers Day and Rice Pudding Day

Next Wednesday - Relaxation Day, Acadian Day, Check The Chip Day and Lemon Meringue Pie Day

September 8 - Pardon Day, Literacy Day, World Physical Therapy Day, Actors’ Day, Iguana Awareness Day, Star Trek Day and International Drive Your Studebaker Day

The Life of a Dragon — The Untold Story of Bruce Lee

As some of you may know, I knew Bruce Lee. He lived across the street from me when I was growing up in Oakland, CA.

You can't see my house from here but it's directly across the street from the driveway. But this picture of James Lee, who had a kung fu school in his garage, shows our house, the one on the left, with my parents' Rambler station wagon in the driveway.

Bruce lived in Mr. Lee's house for awhile. Bruce and James weren't related but very good friends. James' son, Greglon, was about my age and we were very good friends,

In the summer of 1966 I was breaking boards in our driveway (what else are you going to do when you had a kung fu school across the street...plus Greg's friends got free lessons) when Bruce walked over and told me that he was going to be on TV that fall!

Anyway, this post is based on a podcast from The Art of Manliness:

If you were like most boys, you probably went through a karate phase as a kid. When I went through my karate phase as a 5- and 6-year-old, I demanded that my family called me “Daniel-san.” Unfortunately, they did not comply.

There’s one man you can thank for your karate phase: Bruce Lee

I was aware of most of what was discussed in the podcast, a lot from Greg's book as well as having lived through some of it.

The podcast is based on the book Bruce Lee: A Life

Here are some highlight's from the podcast:

• Why is there such a dearth of Bruce Lee biographies out there?
• Lee’s interesting familial makeup 
• Lee’s lifelong East-West struggle and straddling 
• His early life as a child star in Hong Kong 
• The street fighting prowess (and style) of Bruce Lee, and the rooftop fights of Hong Kong
• Why Lee had to keep his kung fu training a secret 
• How Lee ended up in Seattle, and his early experiences in America
• Bruce Lee, cha-cha king and kung fu instructor 
• Lee’s big dreams for his life
• The true acting and martial arts genius of Bruce Lee 
• Lee’s obsession with physical fitness/training — lifting weights, taking supplements, etc. 
• Lee’s voracious reading habits and voluminous library
• How Lee’s reading influenced his kung fu 
• Some of Lee’s famous kung fu students in Hollywood 
• The ups and down of Lee’s acting career 
• How Lee’s movies changed American cinema and culture 
• Some of the life lessons Matt took away while writing the book

Now, I need to find my copy of Greg's book and see if I can find this book in the library.

Interesting days

Today - Lighthouse Day, Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day and Professional Speakers Day

Tomorrow - International Cat Day, Happiness Happens Day, Bowling Day, Odie Day and Scottish Wildcat Day

Next Tuesday - Creamsicle Day and Social Security Day

September 7 - Bring Your Manners To Work Day, Salami Day, Lazy Mom’s Day, Superhuman Day, Buy a Book Day and Beer Lover’s Day

Just a darn minuet (or two)

I did a FB post on Sunday night based on the Minuet in G Major, which had been attributed to J.S. Bach but it has recently been attributed to Christian Petzold. I included a few videos of different versions of the song, but I also incorrectly included a different Minuet in G by Beethoven.

The Minuet in G Major by Bach, er Petzold, goes like this:

It was featured in the movie, Electric Dreams:

And it was the basis for the song A Lover's Concerto by The Toys in 1965.

The Minuet in G by Beethoven goes like this:

And it was featured in the play, and movie, The Music Man:

I couldn't find the clip I wanted from the original movie, but this remake was pretty good.

I then included a video of me playing the song on keyboard for Piano Month. However, I wasn't really playing it...it's one of the songs built into the keyboard to learn to play. I guess I need to learn it now,

Interesting days

Today - Fresh Breath Day, Wiggle Your Toes Day, Root Beer Float Day, International Sailor Moon Day and Farmworker Appreciation Day

Tomorrow - Lighthouse Day, Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day and Professional Speakers Day

Next Monday - International Lefthanders Day and Filet Mignon Day

September 6 - Read a Book Day and Fight Procrastination Day

The month in review - July 2018

Week ending July 6:

Monday - "Buying a Used Car: What’s more important, mileage or age?" The sad saga of my "new" car.

Tuesday - "Tired of people not showing up to your hotel presentations?" Then maybe you should try a virtual hotel room.

Wednesday - "May The Fourth (of July) Be With You" Happy 4th of July!

Thursday - "Introducing the #planBsystem #TBT " What's your Plan B?

Week ending July 13:

Monday - "I've got a secret" Using secret FB groups to promote your business.

Tuesday - "Zoom!" Tools to help you create a Facebook Live.

Wednesday - "Reasons to send" Things to celebrate in July.

Thursday - "I hate selling! #TBT" From "Beach Money" by Jordan Adler. 

Week ending July 20:

 Monday - "No blog post today" I wasn't feeling good

Tuesday - "Moving? 4 things people forget to do" From a newsletter by Jennifer Seidelman.

Wednesday - "What was I thinking?" Nothing to talk about.

Thursday - "The Funday Sunnies #TBT" A kinda unique throwback Thursday.

Week ending July 27:

Monday - "People do business with people they..." Relationship marketing tips.

Tuesday - "I do what you do" Some networking advice. 

Wednesday - "The Mad Men Guide to a Manly Haircut" From The Art of Manliness.

Thursday - "Improve Your Breathing, Improve Your Health #TBT" Based on a podcast from AoM.

Interesting days in review

Your weekend guide to interesting days - July 7, 2018

Your weekend guide to interesting days - July 14, 2018

Your weekend guide to interesting days - July 21, 2018

Your weekend guide to interesting days - July 28, 2018

Your weekend guide to interesting days - August 4, 2018

This week

Sunday - Rain Day, Lasagna Day, International Tiger Day, International Chicken Wing Day and Lipstick Day

Monday - Cheesecake Day, Paperback Book Day and Father-in-Law Day

Tuesday - Raspberry Cake Day, Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day and World Ranger Day

August will be Inventor’s Month, Fishing Month, Romance Awareness Month, Peach Month, Water Quality Month, Happiness Happens Month and Anti-Frizz Month

Wednesday  - Girl Friends Day, Respect For Parents Day, World Scout Scarf Day, Yorkshire Day, Raspberry Cream Pie Day, International Childfree Day, World Wide Web Day, Rounds Resounding Day and World Lung Cancer Day

Thursday - Ice Cream Sandwich Day, India Pale Ale Day and Coloring Book Day

Yesterday - Watermelon Day, Clean Your Floors Day, International Beer Day and White Wine Day

Today - Coast Guard Day, Sisters’ Day, Mustard Day, Mead Day, Assistance Dog Day, Doll Day, Disc Golf Day, Sandcastle Day and Single Working Women’s Day

Next week

Tomorrow - Friendship Day, Underwear Day, Work Like a Dog Day, Oyster Day and Psychic Day

Monday - Fresh Breath Day, Wiggle Your Toes Day, Root Beer Float Day, International Sailor Moon Day and Farmworker Appreciation Day

Tuesday - Lighthouse Day, Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day and Professional Speakers Day

Wednesday - International Cat Day, Happiness Happens Day, Bowling Day, Odie Day and Scottish Wildcat Day

Thursday - Melon Day, Book Lovers Day and Rice Pudding Day

Friday - Lazy Day, Skyscraper Appreciation Day, Earth Overshoot Day, S’mores Day, Duran Duran Appreciation Day and World Lion Day

Saturday - Son and Daughter Day, Ingersoll Day, Garage Sale Day, Play In The Sand Day and Middle Child’s Day

Next month

August 29 - More Herbs, Less Salt Day and Individual Rights Day

August 30 - Slinky Day, Toasted Marshmallow Day, Frankenstein Day, International Whale Shark Day, Holistic Pet Day and Grief Awareness Day

August 31 - Trail Mix Day, Love Litigating Lawyers Day and We Love Memoirs Day

September will be Piano Month, Chicken Month, Happy Cat Month, Hunger Action Month, Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Sewing Month, Suicide Prevention Month, Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and Read A New Book Month

September 1 - Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day, Emma M Nutt Day, World Beard Day, International Turkey Vulture Day and Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

September 2 - V-J Day, Calendar Adjustment Day, Another Look Unlimited Day and Pet Rock Day

September 3 - Skyscraper Day, Welsh Rarebit Day and Mouthguard Day

September 4 - Wildlife Day, Newspaper Carrier Day, College Colors Day and Macadamia Nut Day