"I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among my people, the greatest asset I possess, and the way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement. There is nothing else that so kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms from superiors. I never criticize anyone. I believe in giving a person incentive to work. So I am anxious to praise but loath to find fault. If I like anything, I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise."

-Charles Schwab

A study was done on runaway wives, what do you think was discovered to be the main reason wives ran away? It was "lack of appreciation." And I'd bet that a similar study made of runaway husbands would come out the same way. We often take our spouses so much for granted that we never let them know we appreciate them. You need to use sincere praise, be careful not to use flattery; it does not work - at least not on intelligent people. Flattery is counterfeit, and like counterfeit money, it will eventually get you into trouble if you pass it to someone else. Flattery is telling the other person precisely what he thinks about himself. Appreciation is the legal tender that all souls enjoy.

"Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let's cease thinking of our accomplishments, our wants. Let's try to figure out the other person's good points. Then forget flattery. Give honest, sincere appreciation. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise," and people will cherish your words and treasure them and repeat them over a life time - repeat them years after you have forgotten them.

*Compilation taken from "How to Win Friends and Influence People," by Dale Carnegie

"If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive."

Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, no man ever criticizes himself for anything. Criticism is futile because it puts a man on the defensive, and usually makes him strive to justify himself. Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a man's precious pride, hurts his sense of importance, and arouses his resentment. No amount of criticism will ever persuade someone else to believe that they are wrong. It is human nature for a wrongdoer to blame everybody but himself.

When you and I are tempted to criticize remember that criticisms are like homing pigeons, they always return home. Let's realize that the person we are going to correct and condemn will probably justify himself, and condemn us in return. "Judge not, that ye be not judged." Do you know someone you would like to change and regulate and improve? Good! That is fine. I am all in favor of it. But why not begin on yourself? From a purely selfish standpoint, that is a lot more profitable than trying to improve others-yes?

"Don't complain about the snow on your neighbor's roof," said Confucius, "when your own doorstep is unclean." When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity. A criticism is a dangerous spark, a spark that is liable to cause an explosion in the powder magazine of pride.

Benjamin Franklin, tactless in his youth, became so diplomatic, so adroit at handling people that he was made American Ambassador to France. The secret of his success? "I will speak ill of no man," he said, " . . . and speak all the good I know of everybody." Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain-and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving. "A great man shows his greatness, by the way he treats little men." Instead of condemning people, let's try to understand them. Let's try to figure out why they do what they do. That's a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance, and kindness. "God Himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days." Why should you and I?

*Compilation taken from "How to Win Friends and Influence People," by Dale Carnegie

I am currently reading a book that I'm sure many of you have heard about, or perhaps have already read: How to Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie. It would be an enormous understatement to say that this book has impacted - and completely revolutionized - the lives of millions. Having been written in 1937, and often referred to as the grandfather of all people-skills books, it is still one of today's all-time international best-sellers, selling well over 15 million copies. This book is saturated with timeless information for handling people, invoking enthusiasm among others, and becoming an all-around better communicator. Now, you might not be much of a "reader," but I think this information is powerful and utterly invaluable. After all, nearly all of our life revolves around human interactions.

William James, a renowned Harvard professor, once said, "Compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake. We are making use of only a small part of our physical and mental resources. Stating the thing broadly, the human individual thus lives far within his limits. He possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use."

I hope what Professor James suggests isn't your story - that you're only living life half awake, dazed and unaware of what powers you might possess. I know I don't want it to be mine! And that is why I've decided to try to arouse your interest, as well as my own, in becoming a more influential, more productive, and, ultimately, more likeable person. For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to share some of the fragments from Carnegie's book and post them on this blog. I encourage you to take what you read and digest it slowly. Let the techniques and anecdotes have time to sink into your person. Remember, these fundamental truths might just revolutionize your life. Now wouldn't that be nice?

If you're on the go and need WiFi, or you're just too frugal to actually pay for Internet service (guilty!), here's a helpful site that will tell you if there are any FREE hotspots around.

http://www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm

And if you want to download a Hotspot Finder onto your laptop, you can go here:

http://www.jiwire.com/jiwire-downloads.htm

This is why I'm only allowed one vacation a year.

This is a song off of Casting Crown's newest project, The Altar and The Door. I think the lyrics are powerful.

What this world needs
Is not another one hit wonder with an axe to grind,
Another two bit politician peddlin` lies,
Another three ring circus society.

What this world needs
Is not another sign wavin` super saint that's better than you,
Another ear pleasin` candy man afraid of the truth,
Another prophet in an Armani suit.

What this world needs
Is a Savior who will rescue,
A Spirit who will lead,
A Father who will love them in their time of need.

A Savior who will rescue,
A Spirit who will lead,
A Father who will love,
That's what this world needs.

What this world needs
Is for us to care more about the inside than the outside.
Have we become so blind that we can't see?
God's gotta change her heart before He changes her shirt.

What this world needs
Is for us to stop hiding behind our relevance.
Blendin` in so well that people can't see the difference
And it's the difference that sets the world free.

What this world needs
Is a Savior who will rescue,
A Spirit who will lead,
A Father who will love them in their time of need.

A Savior who will rescue,
A Spirit who will lead,
A Father who will love,
That's what this world needs.

(Spoken)People aren't confused by the gospel,
They're confused by us.
Jesus is the only way to God,
But we are not the only way to Jesus.
This world doesn't need my tie, my hoodie,
My denomination, or my translation of the Bible,
They just need Jesus.
We can be passionate about what we believe,
But we can't strap ourselves to the gospels.
Because we're slowing it down
Jesus is going to save the world,
But maybe the best thing we can do
Is just get out of the way.

What this world needs
Is a Savior who will rescue,
A Spirit who will lead,
A Father who will love them in their time of need.

A Savior who will rescue,
A Spirit who will lead,
A Father who will love,
That's what this world needs.

Jesus is our Savior,
That's what this world needs
Father's arms around you,
That's what this world needs
That's what this world needs

As many of you know, I like to read - a lot. But trying to find the opportunity to squeeze in a little book time can sometimes feel next to impossible. So how do I manage it, let alone a lot of it? Many people have asked me this question. My usual answer: I don't have a clue. I just read. Instead of doing other things, I read. Plain and simple.

But that advice doesn't seem to be very helpful. So, today, I resort to someone else's explanation on how to become a more avid reader. The following link gives some tips on how to read 70 books in a year. But don't let the title scare you. Perhaps your goal is to read 5 books in a year. Either way, this article will help you get on the right track.

http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/08/06/how-to-read-70-books-in-a-year/

For unknown reasons, I'm having trouble with uploading new content on the blog. Also, you might notice that there are no menu items to the left. Argh! Hopefully it won't take too long to resolve.

UPDATE: The blog is back up! Just needed to do a little web server reconfiguring.

Cell phone in the toilet. Cell phone accidentally left in your swim trunks pocket. Cell phone securely placed on your desk, but some psycho-maniac coworker walks by and pours a can of Coke on it. Surprisingly, the wet cell phone dilemma is more common than you might think.

• First, don't panic. As much as you want to start blurting out words you've never used before, try to remain calm. There may be a way to salvage your waterlogged phone.


• Next, get your cell phone out of the water. Duh.


• Because you're probably not taking my first piece of advice about not panicking, you may have the urge to turn your phone on right away to see if it's still working. BUT DO NOT DO THIS!!! Do not turn it on or plug it into an outlet. You'll definitely fry it then.


• Again, stop panicking.


• Remove the battery from the phone and the SIM card right away. Usually these are what get damaged first. Take a paper towel and dab them dry.


• Once you've wiped them down, set your phone, battery, and SIM card in a warm place to dry (but not the oven, or under a hair dryer, or on the blazing hot dash of your car). This is too hot and will certainly cause it to fry. Instead, use a desk lamp set 12 inches or so from the phone so that the heat from the bulb will help the phone dry sooner.


• After about a day, I would then feel comfortable turning it on to see if it works again.

Please, bear in mind, my advice is not guaranteed to work, but hopefully it does. Just sharing from my own personal experience.

Every now and then, I like to talk about a product or service out there that I have grown to love. My most recent obsession has been with my Mio DigiWalker C220 portable GPS system.

This dramatization might look a little strange at first, but watch it all the way through. It is probably one of the most powerful dramatizations of the Gospel I have ever seen. It gripped my heart so deeply........I admit......it made me weep. Thank you, Jesus, for your love and grace. Without you, I am nothing.

So, you think you have what it takes to be a Wall Street stock broker, huh? Then maybe it's time you turned your thoughts into action and start trading like the savvy economist you are. But wait! Before you go risking the whole kit and caboodle on a wildly uncertain market, how about a practice round? How, you ask. Go to WallStreetSurvivor.com.

I just discovered this site a few weeks ago and have been having a blast with it. Basically, it's a website that allows you to manage your own $100,000 fantasy stock portfolio and buy and sell stocks in real time. So, essentially, everything is "like real" - the stocks, the prices, the trading - however, if you end up losing 50 thousand bucks on a dumb hunch that your neighbor's ex-wife's half-brother had, you'll still be able to make the house payment (that is, if you actually had the money for the house payment to begin with). Anyways, it's all for fun, just the practice is real. Check it out. You can register on the site for free. If you do sign up and play, I want to know how you fare as a mighty stock broker.

Remember, WallStreetSurvivor.com is just a game. There's no real money involved - just simulation. The site is designed to help the average Joe learn how to become the market guru by providing tools to sharpen his or her investment skills and strategies.

This video might just be the beginning of a whole new way of life for you. What do I mean? How about transforming the way you look at money and completely revolutionizing the way you live - that is, life DEBT FREE. Can it be done? Well, let's take a look at one family - some call them the cheapest family in America - who are surviving off of a household income of under $35,000 a year, in spite of the fact that there are SEVEN of them! The proof is definitely in the bag with this family and it's encouraging to know that they are in no way suffering to get it done.

The family just wrote a book entitled, "America's Cheapest Family - Gets You Right on the Money: Your Guide to Living Better, Spending Less, and Cashing in on Your Dreams." I'm interested to know more about the method to their madness, so for only 8 bucks at Amazon.com, I'm getting my copy today.

I found the following link to an article that was in the Plain Dealer kind of interesting. It's about a young man, 19 years old, who had a near-successful run at being the city of Streetboro's next mayor. Since his running, city officials are now trying to up the age limit for holding a city office to 23.

What do you think? Is 19 too young to hold a political office? Or is enforcing an age limit age discrimination? Is it okay that you can be old enough to vote or to risk your life in combat for this country, but not also to serve it politically?

Now, if you ask me, I think most any 19 year old would lack the life and business experience to run an office effectively, and for that reason alone, I probably wouldn't vote for them. However, because we do live in a democracy, what should stop a town from voting in a 19 year old to office if, in fact, they felt he or she was the most adequately equipped candidate for the job? Just something to ponder.

Click here for the article.