“You must be very

  proud of yourself!”

“No, I own a business

and I have a life!”

Self-pride can, and almost always does, get in the way of progress — and even survival!

Self-pride. Now isn’t that like stubbornness? “Stop being so stubborn,” my stubborn mother used to say, “it’s gonna get you in trouble. People care about you as a person and they respect what you’ve accomplished, but no body cares about your honor except you   . . . not even me!”

So, yes, I am the son of a wise mother.

As a management consultant and entrepreneur coach for many years, I’ve seen my share of business and life failures. Research studies always point parental fingers to “being under-capitalized” as symptomatic of poor management and the key reason for business failure.

But rarely does anyone look beyond “poor management” being the ultimate culprit to see what else is lurking in the shadows . . . what else is there to account for business and life failures?

Someone should be looking. Why?

Because at the end of this fraying personal and business lifeline is a very heavy anchor that is best categorized as self-pride. It’s something that happens when you choose to get sidetracked from your business and life pursuits, to deal with some imagined threat to your ego.

You put day-to-day operations off to the side to entangle yourself in a legal suit that you know you’re right about just to gloat in satisfaction at having humiliated an annoying competitor, or to realize a thousand dollars payoff after legal expenses.

How much business is lost in the process of your ego-indulging diversions?

The minute the sidetracking starts, it has a tendency (like An object in motion tends to stay in motion) to snowball itself into an avalanche. And it doesn’t take long (sometimes just minutes!) to get to the point of completely immobilizing growth and survival modes.

In minor role applications, the sidetracking diverts needed attention from goal pursuits, family well-being, and from business and career opportunities and success.

Turning your spotlight inward takes the focus away from where you’re headed, and when it gets dark — you’re bound to trip over or run into some thing. You may or may not get up, or be able to.

In major role applications of this sidetracking, businesses go bankrupt, couples get divorced, children get abandoned, and some people can end up depressed enough to be taking their own lives as their failures become more pronounced.

What to do?

There’s always choice involved. Turn the other cheek! Why not? Is letting go so hard when you consider the consequences of holding on?

When you choose to feel insulted (you’ll know when you feel your face flush or knees wobble or stomach churn or head ache or fists clench), you need choose to stop where you are and stop whatever you’re doing.

Force yourself to take some (at least 3 or 4) really deep breaths, while saying to yourself with each inhale, “Healing energy into my body!” and with each exhale, “Stress and tension out of my body!” Remind yourself again that your behavior is your choice!

You can choose to escalate a situation or simply back away from it because it gets in the way of your success (and presumably because you prefer success to getting sidetracked). Getting (choosing to be) sidetracked is simply an admission that you have chosen for someone else to get inside your brain and control your behavior.

Don’t choose your self-pride over your self!

www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

How you chunk up

daily commute time  

reveals the real you!

Ever wonder what you can learn about others based on how they spend their work commute time?

As unorthodox an HR assessment tool as it may seem, it’s probably as effective as any other. How a person commutes to work (i.e., by what means and process) indicates, after all, a little something of each of the following career attributes:

1. time and stress management skills
2. concentration and organization skills
3. entrepreneurship
4. motivation and prioritizing skills
5. sense of initiative and responsiveness

The first pair of these itemized attributes (time and stress management skills) signals a person’s ability to adhere to a schedule while juggling interferences, interruptions, and delays. It also offers some clue about tolerance levels associated with the daily barrage of pin-pricks and nit-picks (and occasional flair-ups) of fellow-commuters.

Yes, there are still carpool goof-balls who jam an unsuspecting neighbor between them in the backseat and proceed to laugh as they spill coffee on the sandwiched lap at every pothole.

Yes, there’s always a sprawling snoring (and probably drooling) sleeper to awaken and/or climb over who’s commandeering two (or three with luggage) rush hour train (or subway or bus) seats — always, of course, when there are no other seats available.

What’s a poor commuter to do? Standing for an hour of jerks (both kinds) and bounces is not usually a great option for starting the day, especially when the time window was planned for laptop or paperwork. And please don’t start with defensive comments from “business class” express trains or some limo drivers union. We’re talking real life here. 

The second pair of attributes (concentration and organization skills) assumes the first pair can be readily met and dispensed with. It’s almost always easier to concentrate and be organized when you’re on schedule and able to fend off anger, annoyance, and upset!

Then there are also some who thrive at concentrating and being organized in chaos and turmoil. (A terrific qualifier for government job applicants!)

Next is, aaah yes, entrepreneurship! First of all, most of these folks only commute a flight or two of stairs in their bathrobes. Hey, there has to be some trade-off with corporatesville, right? And if any of these types are not officially running a basement or garage or kitchen table operation already, they are planning the moment of great escape, and aren’t reading this anyway.

Motivation and priority issues surface as various commuters face the grueling daily ritual of “Commuter Mental Block.”  Not sure about that? Just stand back and watch how many smiles disembark commuter vehicles balanced atop those suits and skirts as they enter work zones and re-enter home zones.

You’ll get volumes of information to match up with Maslow’s Hierarchy theory of motivation and a truckload of clues about those with strong prioritizing interests.

Responsive individuals with a sense of initiative rarely keep commuting . . . except perhaps a bathrobe-clad flight or two. These are the innovators, the catalysts for change, the emerging entrepreneurs who will gladly move to live on the edge of their venturesome ideas. They are the people who happily leap from the daily traffic battles and 9 to 5 status quo monotony to take their chances with their own self control. For the rest: Don’t give up your day job!    

www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You. God Bless America.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

 What Sport

Is Your Business?

    Does your on-the-job behavior match the thinking of a baseball player?  Are you always anticipating the next pitch, and what you’ll do if the ball goes here, and what you’ll do if the ball goes there, and what you’ll do if the signals change . . . or the winds change . . . or your superstitious teammates don’t change the shirts they’ve worn for the last three games? 

     Nothing wrong with thinking like a baseball player unless the company or industry you’re in is Armenian or Finnish . . . or simply doesn’t leave you time to think.  Maybe the company or industry that you’re trying to represent as the star left fielder, is busy playing hockey or fast-break basketball? 

     Circumstances like these make for tough going, when trying to get your glove to get in the game!  

     Worse, you could be a serious golfer in the middle of a football game (keep the first aid squad phone numbers handy!).  Let’s face it, you can’t play soccer on a tennis court or water polo on a ski slope (Yikes!  Now that would be cold, and you’d never want to miss the ball and have to chase after it, especially in a bathing suit!). 

     So, what’s the message?  If your work situation is unhappy, or giving you headaches, knots in your stomach, or other stress-provoked ailments like lower back pain (or, really, just about anything you can think of . . . uh huh, including those two merciless extremes: diarrhea and constipation), step back from the action (no pun intended), and take some deep breaths [See Archives post: “Are you breathing?”  take some deep breaths]

     Then, ask yourself if you’re “playing the same game” as everyone else, and especially of course, the boss!  Entrepreneurs (and male, female, black, white, purple, orange, MBA or otherwise, makes no difference) rarely survive corporate life because they march to a different drummer.  Regardless of money earned, most would prefer to be an individual performer than to be any team player. 

     Conversely, not many corporate types succeed with business startups.  Often, because they fail to realize that they must now pay the expense account submissions, turn out the lights, take out the trash, skip lunch and work far past the luxurious 9-5 weekdays they’re used to.  [See Archives post: “TO ENTREPRENEUR OR NOT TO ENTREPRENEUR?”  

     Maybe you need to examine the environment you work in more carefully and consider if it’s really the match for your skills and interests and personality that it once appeared to be.  We do change, you know.  And, yes indeed, old dogs can learn new tricks. 

     But before you decide to toss your corporate cookies out the window to become a deep sea fisherman or fisherwoman , think again! The grass . . . yes, it does look greener over there. Where? Maybe anywhere. In fact, these days, EVERYthing is greener!  It’s getting hard to tell which came first —  environmentalists or St. Patrick?!

 931.854.0474       Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

The check’s in the

                         

mail. I’ll get back   

                              

to you Friday. 

                                                         

I’ll send you that

                                

update the minute

                           

it comes in. As soon

                                       

as we get an invoice.

                                                                  

When shipment

                                       

arrives. But I never  

                                                                        

got your note. Your

                               

email must have

                         

gotten lost in  

                            

Cyberspace. Oh,

                          

that?That was a

                     

“warning”?

                                                                                                                             

     You’ve heard it all, right? Maybe you’ve even said some of it yourself. But when your intentions are genuine and sincere, nothing can be more frustrating than hearing a pile of excuses . . . from a customer, a prospect, a supplier, an investor, an employee, a boss.

     So, what’s the magic answer? It’s somewhere within yourself. You may not be able to control the attitudes that give birth to replies like these, but you can control your own attitude. You, in fact, are the only one who can.

     And by controlling your own response to the excuses you hear, you are cultivating an opportunity for yourself to set a true leadership example. By setting an example, you:  

A) Keep your emotions out of the fray and

B) May actually influence the offender to re-visit her or his initial behavior or verbal representation of it, and reconsider a better, more productive, higher integrity avenue.

     Perhaps you’re not Henry Ford or Bill Gates or Mary Kay, and the idea of changing the world is not on your breakfast plate, but — as a small business owner or manager or entrepreneur — you are in an extraordinarily unique position to make a difference for yourself, for your family, and for those you work with, simply by choosing to respond instead of react.

Besides, if you never react,

you can never over-react!

     People offer excuses to cover their own feelings of inadequacy. Most of the time, you can probably count on excuses being not so much intentionally dishonorable as a shortcoming of the person who’s offering them up in the self-esteem category. Some people who feel they can’t get positive recognition will opt instead for negative recognition because it’s at least some recognition.

     Humans crave recognition. And some recognition always beats indifference.

The opposite of love is not hate.

It’s indifference!

     When you hear excuses, appreciate the insecurities behind them. When it’s possible to overlook them, do it and then make a point of offering (genuine) appreciation for instances of getting a job done without a presentation of reasons why it didn’t get done.

     Offer more encouragement than you might usually provide. Be kinder than you might usually be (because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle). Appreciate differences in perso0nalities and behaviors and help others to grasp the choosing behavior idea through your examples.

     Excuses are a way of life, but they are not always intentional or dishonorable. When you give the benefit of doubt to others, you may get bit in the butt a few times, but you’ll be serving the important purpose of minimizing anxieties and demonstrating productive leadership traits most of the time.

     The captain who keeps an even keel and balanced ship through stormy seas marks every journey with success.

 302.933.0116    Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

God Bless America and America’s Troops.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Are you paying for your

business with your health?

“Hey, How’s it goin’?”

“Great! Second quarter sales have picked up and it looks like we’ll be steady through September. I’ve had to cut staffing, but the people who are still here are working double-time with me and keeping things on a roll.”

“Good to hear, but you look, um, tired?”

“Yeah, well I haven’t been sleeping much and I was up all night with a toothache, and my stomach –aw, must of been something I ate– anyway, keeping the business alive takes it’s toll, y’know? Like that speeding ticket I just got cause I was thinking about this guy I was talking with on my cell phone instead of the gas pedal.”

     Indeed. Every one who owns and/or operates or manages a business knows this nasty little secret: Business stress is consuming. It spreads like wildfire and leaves little in its path besides smoldering ashes. Yeah, yeah, I know you know, but what you probably forgot is that you bring it on yourself. Sometimes disguised as unconscious, it’s usually the result of a conscious choice.

• “If I grab this quick cheeseburger, I can keep working on my projects and not have to take a whole big long break to sit down in some restaurant while nothing gets done.”
• “I get enough exercise. I pace around the worksite all day. Who needs to swim laps or workout in a gym with muscleheads?”
• “I know I’ve been snapping at my family lately, but if I wasn’t bringing home enough to feed and clothe them and keep a roof over their heads, where would we be?”
• “Relax? Sure, I get my couple or three drinks in every night . . . and even sneak in a cigar or two on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

     Nobody likes to admit that they made bad choices. So one bad choice often has a way of lumping itself right onto another one. Bad choices have a way of steamrollering. If you choose for them to do that. Ah, there’s that insulting “choice” word again. “Hey, I had three cheeseburgers yesterday; how about choosing a bucket of fried chicken today instead?”

     If any of this sounds at all familiar, you are not likely to respond well to a lecture and will delete this in a flash, so we won’t go there.

     If you’re at a point where you’ve made an honest decision to do better with yourself because you’ve concluded there’s only one self to go around in life, and now you’re looking for quick-fix answers, stop!

     Whatever answers you get that could possibly make a difference will have to come from inside you anyway, not from healthcare experts, not from healthcare pretenders, not from those all-natural treatments, pills, liquids, injections, organic this and thats or limiting everything you eat to stuff that has no eyes, or from ingesting magic books and tapes and CDs and DVDs and website videos.

     Those are all very nice things but they won’t make anything happen that you don’t want to happen.

     The only answers to your business health and personal health problems that can possibly work are those that come from inside you, from knowing that no one else can reach into your brain and control you, and that all of your thoughts and behaviors are chosen by you, or exist because of some other choices you made in the recent or distant past.

It’s never too late to choose to

recognize that you ARE your body.

Without reasonable good health, you

cannot have a reasonably good business.

Decide what’s important, and what

    needs to come first . . . then do it!    

 www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

God Bless America and America’s Troops.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT Day!

What I am learning about

me right this minute is…?

     A scene from my new novel manuscript traces its roots to my professor years when I would challenge students 5-10 times per class to complete the blank ending to the statement: “What I am learning about myself right now is . . . ?”

     The repeated question and the answers, no matter what they are, or who offers them, achieve two primary objectives for human growth and development:

1) The question itself literally forces increased awareness of the present (here and now) moment, which is of course the only true reality, and

2) The answers force increased awareness of the self.

     “Why would I want to know more about me?” is a question often offered in response to the question. And the answer to that one is that the more each of us knows about ourselves and what it is that makes each of us “tick,” so to speak, the better equipped we are to more easily relate to and communicate with and understand others.

     In business, increased self-awareness translates to exceptional sales and exceptional customer service. In management, it is the cornerstone of true leadership. In life, it is the key to human authenticity.

     So, let’s backtrack here a minute . . . increased awareness of the present moment. Is there any other? Are not the past and future moments we tend to dwell on and worry about simply reservoirs of fantasy? They’re not here now.

If the moments are past, nothing can be done to change them.

Though memories can be educational and also soothing, when we reach the point of dwelling on them, we are pushing the emotionally unhealthy envelope of make-believe, and losing sight of what’s right in front of us.

If the moments haven’t come yet, they may never.

Expectations can be fun, but they also breed disappointment.

Planning is an important function for all humans, yet when we reach the point of worrying about what hasn’t yet come. we are pushing that emotionally unhealthy envelope of make-believe — also losing sight of what’s right in front of us.

     So there you have a gourmet serving of reasons to want to be learning as much about your self as you possibly can. When? As many waking moments of your day-to-day existence as you can muster. The financial, emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual ROI (Return On Investment, for our non-business-minded visitors) can be astronomical.

     You needn’t look far for great achievers in every walk of life who have strongly endorsed or who presently do underscore this thinking. Will you? What does it take for you to make the choice to open this focus? What are you learning about yourself right this minute?     

302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT Day for someone!

You’re the boss, but 

are you a happy camper?

     If you’re not a professional athlete and you need energy drinks to keep afloat, or nine or ten cups of coffee every day just to stay alert, on track, and in control, you are definitely not a happy camper.

     You are fighting with yourself and not sleeping much.

     But you’re not alone. You definitely don’t want to hear the latest findings about unhappy work situations, depression, anxiety, stress, illnesses, accident-proneness, and insomnia.

     Just know that the numbers are staggering enough to underscore that you’re in good company, or perhaps bad company as it may be (?).

     Just an awareness of how common these issues are should prompt you to pursue your options.

     But odds are —like a student I remember telling me didn’t think he had enough time to take my time management course — that you continue to manage to sidestep alternative ways of thinking. What’s that “Got Milk?” thing? Uh, got excuses? 

     Sidestepping is an art form all by itself. Sometimes it’s in your own or others’ best interests. Sometimes it’s not.

     Sidestepping is not in your own and others’ best interests when it puts your life or the lives of others on the edge . . . hanging precipitously on the cusp of the kinds of physical, emotional and psychological ailments itemized in the third paragraph above.

Suffice it to say that being overworked, unhappy in relationships, constantly worried about money, jacked up on caffeine, and never sleeping enough is a description that probably fits — at least in part — the majority of Americans in today’s workforce.” 

     Sidestepping is not in your own or others’ best interests when you foster or nurture worklife environments that breed these kinds of symptoms.   Are you breathing?     

     Does this mean you need to be the Sheriff of Civility, and fire offenders, or put them behind bars? Silly, huh? Well how silly is it that you consistently choose to set yourself up to get whacked out by stress, and become the poster-boy or poster-girl for serving up on-the-job heart attack appetizers by setting a lousy example?

     What if you came in to work tomorrow morning and drank juice or water instead of Red Bull or whatever it is that presently floats your boat? (Careful to wean off the caffeine unless you enjoy headaches.) Would people notice? Of course. Would they tease and whisper? Of course. Would it prompt them to think twice about their own caffeine-loading habits?  Of course.

     And would choosing to change that simple behavior be a good thing overall for productivity, customer service, sales,  operations, and your own well-being? Of course. Will it happen overnight? Now, come on, how long did it take to work up to nine or ten daily cups of coffee, or get everybody hooked on energy drinks? 

     This isn’t about three or four cups of coffee a day, or getting into occasional bad moods, or interfering in people’s personal lives. It’s about closing the floodgates.

     This is about recognizing you have a chance to help others to live more enjoyable and rewarding lives by making the conscious choice to help yourself to do that, and setting an example . . . it’s about making that choice over and over every day.

    www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You. God Bless America and our troops. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!

Your business may

be your life, but your

life is not a business!

     Entrepreneur, right? So what does it take to jolt your brain out of that innovative thinking tunnel long enough to appreciate and enjoy some of the real-life reasons you exist on this planet to begin with? (Clue: This is not a Red Bull chug-a-lug contest idea!)

     Will a family birth deliver enough power surge to give you a wake-up call? Not enough? How about a couple of funerals? Maybe a fender bender or stepping in your neighbor’s Saint Bernard’s leavings when you’re running late and rushing to an important meeting? A nasty bill collector pounding on your door?

     Stop for a minute. You’ve read this far looking for some kind of answer or provocation or support or or assessment tool, but maybe you need to consider asking yourself more questions before you start looking for answers?

     When, for example, did you last stop to smell the roses? Literally. Be honest here; no one else is looking. When did you last interrupt your compulsive workday habits to sniff?

     When did you last push the paperwork aside to give your complete attention to a troubled associate, employee, supplier, or customer? Did it make you crazy to have to shift gears out of your head space and into someone else’s?

     After all, life is just a bowl of worries, you might think, so why get caught up in other people’s bowls? 

     When you make yourself too busy to socialize or too busy to deal with priorities, inventory your actions to make sure you’re not just doing tasks of avoidance. Do you find the expression, “Yes, but . . .” (or the sentiments it represents) creeping into more and more of your answers. Are your responses to questions starting to sound more like reactions, or excuses?

     If you can respond instead of react, you can never over-react!

     Are you breathing? Click here for the free 60-second exercise

     Your business may occupy most of your waking hours (and probably some dream time too!), but neglecting your health — eating, drinking, sleeping, and exercise habits — and neglecting your family and friends and neighbors and community, is not a good trade-off (unless of course you’re bucking to be the object of one of those funerals mentioned earlier)!

     The better you are at business, the more focused you are on your business, the more rewarding your business efforts, the greater the odds that you are setting a trap for yourself to start to think your life is also a business, or is part of your business pursuits. You will start making excuses to yourself about why you need to stay on the job, to the point of being a crispy, well-done burn-out.

     You may start to look on life, and manage and operate it as if it were a business. This is clearly not a healthy place for anyone to be. Breaks are more than pulling yourself away from the desk or workspace. Breaks are rests for your brain that are like investments, and that will pay back with ever increased energy, productivity, and innovativeness when you return to your career pursuits.

     You need ’em. Take ’em! If you can’t do it, get some professional help . . . no excuses.

# # #

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Hal@Businessworks.US or 302.933.0116

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals. God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

All best wishes

                                                                

. . . from Hal & Kathy and our 13 year-old Golden Retriever, “Barnegat Girl,” who asked to wear a patriotic scarf for the occasion.

Please enjoy scanning the archives for helpful entrepreneurial leadership and creative sales hints and ideas.

Hal will retrun Saturday night with some hot new, light-up-the-skies topics and experienced consulting help aimed at helping small business owners and professional practice principals achieve greater success with less stress in less time at minimal expense. 

www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You and America and Our Troops. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!

 

R.I.P. PAUL HARP

November 2, 1950 – June 22, 2010

     I lost a good friend today, my friends.

     He was a man I cared about and joked with and shared some serious times with as well. We played year-round softball together, sometimes as friendly foes, and would often rib each other with post-game phone messages.

“Were those your regular glasses you were wearing when you dropped that ball today?”; “Did you know you missed touching first base on that double?”; “I heard you were using an illegal bat on that game-winning hit?”

     To be clear, lest you think we were both great sluggers and agile fielders, Paul’s on-field talents ranked him far beyond my humble skill set.

     The being-on-the-same-playing-field thing may not seem very significant to those who don’t indulge in team sports, and especially senior team sports where camaraderie is special, but it means simply that we clicked, Paul and I. For some odd reason, we took comfort in one another’s smiles, shared stories, cheer-leading, and back pats. 

     “Odd reason” because Paul was a retired Baltimore County Police Officer, and all we had in common in that regard was that I once taught a few years of college law enforcement classes in crisis intervention. Other than that, I’ve always believed in living a law-abiding life and in generally keeping a respectful distance from the worlds of lawyers, cops, and retired cops.

     I didn’t know “Paul the lawman,” but I know others who did . . . and a couple who worked with him. A man of principle and determination are traits most agree he evidenced with every task he tackled. Paul took his contributions to and from life with intensity. He worked hard and played hard. 

     He was a truly exceptional athlete, but Paul was never healthy. In all of our friendship, and by all accounts from those who knew him better and longer –and most certainly from his loving and devoted wife Linda, his sister Rose, brother-in-law Joe, his children and step-children, and his lifelong best friend Fred– Paul was clearly in a permanent day-to-day state of  physical pain.

     It sometimes got hard to watch him living with ice packs and heat pads, forever trooping from one doctor to another.

     At least that suffering has ended, but it doesn’t make his loss any easier. I guess I should have seen it coming. Probably many of his friends and family feel that way. Blindsided.

     We get blindsided with sudden losses all through life and then, with time to heal and God’s help, we somehow raise ourselves and spirits back up from the ground we’ve been knocked to, and reconnect with all the hidden joys of living — the babies and puppies and flowers and trees and hugs and smiles and sunshine and great meals with great company and the sense of accomplishment that elevates our efforts to reap rewards.

     Paul knew all this. He’d been through it with others — good and bad, easy and hard. He rarely let it show. He kept most of it so much inside and some small bits for all to see worn on every sleeve.

     One important exchange of quiet resolve that all who cared about him may want to know as fact: Paul believed deeply in God. He told me so. He told me in a time and place that made me know he meant it.    

     We are blindsided by Paul’s loss, but comforted by his belief, and by knowing that once and for all, he is finally pain-free and at peace.

     I’ll miss you, good buddy, as I know others will. But Kathy and I have gained by your passage through our lives. You made a difference to us, and I thank you for being the kind of friend who was always there when a friend was needed.

     God Bless you, Paul. God Bless Linda and Rose and the rest of your family. You will not be forgotten.                                                                      _____________________________________________

www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless:  You, America, and Our Troops. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]  Make today a GREAT Day!