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A Contrast in Buyers

One of the few mementos that remained from my grandparent's estate was a deck of playing cards. The other was a finger 'nappie' cut glass bowl signed by the artist. Their seven children shared equally the inheritance and not a stick of furniture came our way. No one knows what happened to the collection of antique hand spun Christmas ornaments or which daughter in law got the Haviland china. I always meant to keep the cards in the family to hand down to my daughter (she did get the nappie), but hard times made us desperate for money to pay the bills.

A transformation deck dated 1871, these Tiffany cards were hand made. Scenes in and around the city and country depicted the various modes of clothing popular at the time. No two card were alike. People were dancing, skating, talking, shopping, walking their dogs, and playing instruments. A clever pattern of diamonds, spades, clubs and hearts were worked into the scene to allow regular play amd printed on a strong plastic for a good snap. They came with a custom leather case, stamped in gold with the owner's name (a relative). All fiftytwo cards were present plus two jokers. These playing cards could not be bought, but were given as a bonus for buying a certain amount of Tiffany wares in their New York store. I thought that somewhere a collector would love to own these unusual cards.

I discovered that the author of a book on the subject lived in a nearby town. I called and he said he would be glad to look at the cards. He glanced casually at the cards, quickly replacing them on the cocktail table. He said that they were not worth more than two hundred fifty dollars. I was surprised at the low amount, telling him of a story I read in a Life Magazine book on antiques that an exact deck was sold ten years previously for four hundred dollars. He said that he knew of that book and he believed it to be a misprint. Suspicious, I told him I would think about it. He called several times, but I wouldn't change my mind.

Back at the library, I found a source book with a list of known card collectors. I wrote to four of them, one in England, one in South Carolina and two in a western state, describing the cards and asking for an offer. The South Carolina person replied with an excited request to buy the cards for one thousand dollars. She related that she belonged to an antique card club and that the president owned such a deck, but in poor condition. She admitted that they might be worth more, but one thousand dollars is all the money she could spend. I wrote back that I would be glad to make her happy, not being a collector myself. Soon the certified check arrived, the cards were insured and sent off, the bills got paid and (almost) everybody was happy.

posted by g80961 @ 11:53 PM 0 comments

Orchestrating Attitude: Getting the Best from Yourself and Others

How do you measure success? Is it by financial security, career growth, community involvement, quality of relationships, spiritual centeredness or the legacy you leave? Whichever measure you choose, your attitude is the single most important factor in achieving success.

The topic of attitude can be conceptual and confusing. In fact, as we go through life we often hear phrases like: keep your chin up, look on the bright side or you need a winning attitude. Unfortunately, we seldom know how to convert these soft sayings into hard results.

This book translates the incomprehensible into the actionable. It is intended to provide you with inspiration and application so you can orchestrate your attitude.. and your success.

The great news is that even in the worst situations a victim of a natural disaster, prisoner of war, target of abuse or when hit by a string of unfortunate circumstances - your attitude is something you can always control!

When we control our attitude we influence how our body responds and performs. Where our thoughts and attitudes go, our bodies follow. For example, blushing is a physical reaction to a mere thought. If we have this kind of reaction to a thought, is it such a leap of faith to believe that we can orchestrate our attitudes to affect our bodies in beneficial ways?

In fact, a positive attitude can buffer us against some adverse health effects and depression. Researchers who studied 839 patients over a 30-year period found a link between optimism and lower risk of early death. Specifically, optimism early in life predicts good health later in life.

Additionally, a landmark study shed light on the ultimate benefit of a positive attitude. In this particular study, participants who were more positive lived an average of 10 years longer than the other participants. Considering that smoking has been shown to reduce life expectancy by 5.5 years for men and 7 years for women, your attitude might be a health risk factor worth paying real attention to.

The choice of attitude is yours. Tomorrow you will become what you choose today.

Attitude: Concept or Concrete?

Have you ever thought about what makes you say things like: that guy has a great attitude, or boy, her attitude is really killing the team? How do you know if someones attitude is great or crummy? When most of us hear the word attitude we think of a fuzzy concept that somehow makes us happy, sad, content or frustrated.

It is difficult to measure and manage a concept. However, its easier to manage and measure behavior. Thats why I will use a broad definition of attitude: a relatively stable and enduring way to behave. This definition and the following explanation are designed to help you get your mind around the concept of attitude. If we can translate a concept like attitude into concrete behaviors, then we can more easily manage and measure - orchestrate - our attitudes.

How Do Attitudes Develop?

Our attitudes develop from repeatedly thinking, speaking and acting the same way, over and over, until it becomes a stable and enduring way we behave a habit. Although we can hear and see our attitudes in the words and actions we choose, attitudes start developing with our thoughts.

Our minds are our ultimate personal computers! What we program into them determines how they will function. The most powerful computer ever made, programmed with the wrong software or with bad data, will never function to its capacity. For instance, just as we have viruses (bad data) in todays cyber world that cause computer malfunctions, our mental computers are also susceptible to the data we put into them. If we choose to load them with bad data, it will limit how effective or successful we will be.

Our attitude is our personal boomerang to the world whatever we throw out will come back to us. Express enthusiasm and it comes back. Offer a smile and it is returned. Start to gossip and thats what we will hear. Get frustrated about a team member and thats what we will see. Help a colleague and we will find a helping hand. This boomerang effect holds true for our thoughts about money, relationships, self-worth, a performance goal, team building, a problem colleague or customer, a new project or career.

So, once we develop a habit of choosing a positive or negative attitude, that is exactly what we will send to and receive from the world.

Choice: Reaction or Response?

The power of choice is one of the greatest gifts we are given. In fact, it is so important that the privilege of choice is removed from prison inmates as a form of punishment. Although we make many choices every hour of the day, we rarely make neutral choices. Each choice has a positive or negative consequence for us at some level.

Our attitude toward life is the most important choice we make! Lets look at why such a simple choice embracing a positive or negative attitude is more challenging than it appears for many people. The bottom line is that we often forget that we have the power to choose. We relinquish it subconsciously, because we make thousands of decisions daily - about 95% of them are subconscious.

Just think of the last time you were in deep thought about your plans for the evening while driving home from work. As you pull into your driveway you wonder to yourself, How did I get home? The car seemed to practically drive itself home. Driving is a relatively complex task, requiring many choices along the way turn right, turn left, slow down, stop and change lanes. Still, driving home can be successfully performed almost subconsciously. So, consider the multitude of much smaller choices we make each day that we dont really think about: waking up, brushing our teeth, saying good morning to a colleague, eating our lunch, performing a repetitive job duty and so on. Subconscious actions are useful most of the time, but we must also consciously choose our attitude in order to control our results.

Our ability to choose is a gift, but it is also a huge responsibility. No matter what todays its not my fault culture encourages, we are all ultimately responsible for our own choices. In fact, I like to write the word responsibility as response ability. As humans, we have the unique ability to respond. It is a choice we make, although many times an instantaneous or subconscious choice.

Heres a scenario repeated daily. Family dinners are important at the Smith house. Jim and Jane Smith and their two children (Jonnie, age 3 and Janie, age 4) have just seated themselves at the table. Before the first bite of dinner is enjoyed, Jonnie spills his milk and it goes everywhere.

A reaction to this event: Not again, Jonnie! Every time we eat, this happens. Think, son, think! Do you want to eat in your room from now on?

A response to this event: Uh Oh, Jonnie. Lets get a sponge and clean this up so you can eat your dinner.

When you react, you make a purely emotional and subconscious decision. Often, because of how your experiences and prior choices have programmed your subconscious mind, your reactions do not help you achieve the best results.

On the other hand, when you respond to a situation, you make a constructive and conscious decision. That's why there are Emergency Response Teams not Emergency Reaction Teams:

- When you simply react, your emotional instinct is in control, with little thought of the long-range consequences.

- When you respond, your brain is fully engaged and your self-awareness is high. You have the long-term consequences in mind.

We all experience plenty of negative situations and people. The key is to be prepared to consciously respond to these negative inputs. Choosing to respond instead of react helps us to positively orchestrate our attitudes.and our lives.

A Script for Orchestrating Attitude

There are three aspects of the script that work in concert: thoughts, words and actions. By orchestrating each aspect with conscious responses, we positively influence our beliefs, commitments and results.

Orchestrate your THOUGHTS to nfluence BELIEFS.....

Orchestrate your WORDS to influence your COMMITMENTS

Orchestrate your ACTIONS to influence your RESULTS

The script plays out like this:

- Thoughts, the way we choose to interpret our world, directly influence our beliefs.

- Beliefs directly influence the words we choose to peak to others, and more importantly, to ourselves.

- Words reflect our commitments to ourselves and others.

- Commitments influence our choice of actions.

- Finally, our actions directly influence the results we achieve.

This script is self-reinforcing, for better or for worse. The results we achieve reinforce our thoughts and the same script is played out again. So, it all starts with our thoughts. Our thoughts today influence our results tomorrow.

The left side of the script is the side of choice. Each of us chooses our thoughts, words and actions either consciously or subconsciously. Therefore, we influence the right side of the script the side of responsibility. We must take responsibility for our beliefs, commitments and results. We are each responsible for the choices we make and the results we ultimately achieve. The ultimate choice is ours - victim or victor?

To illustrate how this script plays out, lets say I am given a new project to lead. I am confident that the prospects for this project are positive. Therefore, I start thinking about how to ensure its success and how I can measure the benefits of the project deliverables. I also think about my talented project team, knowing they will need to go above and beyond to achieve success on this project. My kick-off e-mail contains words like excited, opportunity, talented team, creative solutions and positive impact. My team members speak and react in kind, boomeranging my winning attitude back to me. Meetings are crisp, roles are clearly defined and decisions are made collaboratively, yet quickly.

The expected challenges, even the seemingly big ones, are handled professionally and swiftly because the team knows that failure is not an option, and there are many pathways to success. My thoughts and words have already predisposed the team to acting in alignment with my expectation of success. And our eventual success predisposes me to the same thoughts, words and actions on the next project. This is when the powerful, self-reinforcing script will be played again.

Orchestrating attitude creates a beautiful human symphony. The result is a person of integrity who gets the best from himself and others!

posted by g80961 @ 9:25 PM 0 comments

A Guide to Gumball Vending Machines

Gumball vending machines are among the oldest surviving types of vending machines. (An interesting side fact is that the first vending machine was a water dispenser in Egypt circa 100 B.C.) The first gumball machines were penny machines. You can still get those antiques, although they are more for novelty use than a way for you to make a profit. Who wants to carry around five dollars worth of pennies?

Most gumball vending machines today are quarter-operated. The great thing about gumball vending machines is that they do not require any electricity for keeping cool or for accepting coins and dollars. Anyone can afford to buy a gumball machine. They start at $50, and even the most elaborate ones are usually not more than a few hundred. The exception is if you choose to go with a huge vending machine kiosk that includes gumballs but also candy, stickers, toys, and other quick impulse items. Those are widely available as well.

Simple gumball vending machines can either be counter-mounted or freestanding. The freestanding models require a stand that you can buy from the manufacturer of the machine. These stands are often available in a range of styles to fit any setting. They can be customized to hold one, two, three, or more gumball vending machines. They can be adjusted to face all directions (perfect for central locations) or they can be adjusted to fit into a corner, with all of the machines facing forward. The money containers can either be emptied from the front or the back, depending on the model. Dome models allow you to empty the money containers either way.

Remember that when you buy gumball machines, you have to figure in probable profits. If youre only going to rake in a few dollars a month, consider changing locations or style. If you have a stand with two or more machines, rotate the gumball selection from time to time to keep customers interested.

posted by g80961 @ 6:02 PM 0 comments

A Contrast in Buyers

One of the few mementos that remained from my grandparent's estate was a deck of playing cards. The other was a finger 'nappie' cut glass bowl signed by the artist. Their seven children shared equally the inheritance and not a stick of furniture came our way. No one knows what happened to the collection of antique hand spun Christmas ornaments or which daughter in law got the Haviland china. I always meant to keep the cards in the family to hand down to my daughter (she did get the nappie), but hard times made us desperate for money to pay the bills.

A transformation deck dated 1871, these Tiffany cards were hand made. Scenes in and around the city and country depicted the various modes of clothing popular at the time. No two card were alike. People were dancing, skating, talking, shopping, walking their dogs, and playing instruments. A clever pattern of diamonds, spades, clubs and hearts were worked into the scene to allow regular play amd printed on a strong plastic for a good snap. They came with a custom leather case, stamped in gold with the owner's name (a relative). All fiftytwo cards were present plus two jokers. These playing cards could not be bought, but were given as a bonus for buying a certain amount of Tiffany wares in their New York store. I thought that somewhere a collector would love to own these unusual cards.

I discovered that the author of a book on the subject lived in a nearby town. I called and he said he would be glad to look at the cards. He glanced casually at the cards, quickly replacing them on the cocktail table. He said that they were not worth more than two hundred fifty dollars. I was surprised at the low amount, telling him of a story I read in a Life Magazine book on antiques that an exact deck was sold ten years previously for four hundred dollars. He said that he knew of that book and he believed it to be a misprint. Suspicious, I told him I would think about it. He called several times, but I wouldn't change my mind.

Back at the library, I found a source book with a list of known card collectors. I wrote to four of them, one in England, one in South Carolina and two in a western state, describing the cards and asking for an offer. The South Carolina person replied with an excited request to buy the cards for one thousand dollars. She related that she belonged to an antique card club and that the president owned such a deck, but in poor condition. She admitted that they might be worth more, but one thousand dollars is all the money she could spend. I wrote back that I would be glad to make her happy, not being a collector myself. Soon the certified check arrived, the cards were insured and sent off, the bills got paid and (almost) everybody was happy.

posted by g80961 @ 2:40 PM 0 comments

Premiership Betting Review - 26 February 2006

Manchester United are the 2005/06 Carling Cup winners following a 4-0 demolition of Wigan Athletic at the Millennium Stadium. United, as short as 8/13 on the day, took the lead after 32 minutes through Wayne Rooney but it was a three goals in six minutes salvo in the second half that devastated outsiders Wigan. Louis Saha netted after 54 minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo on 58 and Rooney again on the hour to win the Cup in emphatic fashion.

With United not playing in the Premiership this weekend, Chelsea extended their lead at the top to 15 points with an expected victory over Portsmouth. The Blues were overwhelming favourites at 1/6 and did not disappoint short-odds backers with second half goals from Frank Lampard and Arjen Robben to win the match 2-0.

Liverpool drew level on points with Manchester United but remain third after a 1-0 win against Manchester City on Sunday. Harry Kewells goal five minutes before the break was enough to secure all three points for the 8/15 Reds.

Arsenals dire away form in the Premiership continued as they lost 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers. The 5/4 Gunners will have attracted a lot of punting interest, however, it was 21/10 Rovers that took the points after Morten Gamst Pedersens decisive goal. The result saw Blackburn leapfrog Arsenal into fifth place while condemning them to their eighth away defeat of the season.

Birmingham City are within touching distance of safety after a vital win against Sunderland. Even though prior to the match the Blues had won just three games all season at St. Andrews, plenty will have ploughed into the 7/10 odds and Emile Heskey headed in the winner after 39 minutes.

In another crunch relegation battle, Middlesbrough edged themselves closer to safety but piled on more pressure on West Bromwich Albion after winning 2-0 at the Hawthorns. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbainks goals on 17 and 44 was enough to seal victory at tasty 9/5 odds.

Caretaker manager Glenn Roeder made it three wins in four matches for 11/10 Newcastle with a 2-0 victory against Everton. Two goals from Nolberto Solano after 64 and 76 minutes saw Everton lose their first match since December 28.

posted by g80961 @ 1:48 AM 0 comments