Tick, tock

The days are passing by, and you'll notice I haven't posted any new entries, which would imply (see previous post) that I don't have three of them written yet.

However, I do have the first two Oktoberfest meetings scheduled. And…er…other stuff as well.

I'll get back to you on that.

Here you go. Another pretty picture, courtesy of my friend Don Comedy of Marble Falls, Texas.

More later. No, really!

I have a new goal for March

I just set a new goal for March, even though we're well into the month. Here it is:

• Come up with a list of thirty topics for my business blog (this; what you're reading right now).

I just came up with 33 of them.

Great! Check!

Oh, all right. That was actually my goal for this afternoon, not the whole month.

Well, okay, to be honest, it was my goal for this week because I thought it would be harder; this afternoon's goal was only five ideas, plus a nap. But I had somehow forgotten that as I read articles that spark my interest or trigger some train of thought about an appropriate subject, I jot down notes or copy the link to the article and stash it in my "Business blog" folder. So when I went through all the files in that folder, I had 27 ideas, blam! right there. I thought a bit and came up with the next three so I could say I reached thirty, and the three extra were 1) because they occurred to me, and 2) because some of the ones earlier on the list now sound kind of boring.

I've had enough of writing about things I found boring. I'll do that for money, but for free…nuh-uh.

So here's the real March goal, updated and expanded: I'm going to write those 33 blog entries. I'll post three a week, starting as soon as I have three of them written. If I don't get it done…hmm. Well. There should be some sort of penalty involved, shouldn't there? I know, if I don't get them done, I have to go to some networking group I know I won't like, preferably one that costs money. Any suggestions?

So check back and see if there isn't some actual, you know, content here soon. In the meantime, look at this pretty picture.

In New Bern, NC. No, it doesn't have
anything to do with anything, but it's pretty.

Keep it sharp

Happy holidays, everybody!

Now that the niceties are out of the way, lifehacker.com once again has great advice to offer about editing what your write. That is, knowing how to improve the words you churn out yourself.

Personally, I don't print everything out, but I have a pretty significant amount of experience at this. The Take a Break, Pretend You're the Intended Audience and—especially—Be Ruthless parts are pure gold.

Back to more congenial matters. Have a great, festive holiday (whatever it is you celebrate) and I hope the upcoming new year is your best one ever. Heck, I hope it's our best one ever!

I love this so much I may get a tattoo of it.

I do. I love this SO much, I'm going to make everyone I know read it. Everyone I know! Plus a bunch of people I don't know, but who post comments and reviews online in places where I come across them, and read them, and then gag a little:

15 Grammar Goof That Make You Look Silly (and not in a good way)

Once everybody's up to speed on those, we'll start on a few slightly finer points. Number and amount go along with fewer and less. Same deal — if you can count it, use number. If you can't, use amount. It's not (ever), "The amount of cars that use the bridge…" or "The amount of people who…."

And while we're talking about people, remember that they're a who, not a what. Or, more properly, a that. It's "The number of people who…," not "The number of people that…." (You'd get credit for the number part of the sentence but, really, why not keep going and get the whole thing right?)

Yeah, I know, it's a little pickier (and it is 'pickier,' not 'more picky,' and maybe sometime we'll talk about the comparative form of two syllable words ending in 'y') and a lot more subtle. But as one who dies a little every time I see one of those mistakes, my heart is singing.

Seriously. Everyone I know.

Guest speaker at the Book Connection this Friday

The Southlake Chamber of Commerce Book Connection is delighted to have a guest speaker this month! Author (and networking friend, and all around good guy) John Carroll of Tres Coaching Services™ will be speaking on “How to Make a Global Difference.”

Author John Carroll

John is the author of the book Globalization: America’s Leadership Challenge Ahead, published this past January. A familiar face to business networkers in the north Texas area, John has enjoyed success in business for thirty years, serving as Director, Vice President and COO for Fortune 1000 companies, leading high-performing organizations that generated more than $1 billion in revenue. He’s also founder of the Back to Basics 2.0^SM business series, a program to help entrepreneurs and small business owners, “Achieve the results to move beyond their vision.”

Globalization takes a hard look at the interconnected nature of the global economy in this age of Internet, e-commerce and the instant, worldwide delivery of information through social media. Changes in this evolving business arena challenges business leaders and offers them the opportunity to take a role in shaping the future. Lisa Petrilli, CEO and author of The Introvert's Guide to Success in Business and Leadership, says of John’s book, “By encouraging leaders to take responsibility for responding to the difficult questions of our time, and to empower themselves to create positive momentum toward global prosperity and peace, John shows us a clear and inspiring path forward.”

The Book Connection is offered as a service to the community by the Southlake Chamber, and is open to everyone. We meet at the Southlake Public Library, 1400 Main Street, Suite 130, in Southlake Town Square. It’ll look like the library is closed, but come on in. They’ll have free Starbucks coffee ready.

You can contact me if you have any questions about the Book Connection, either through the comments here or by calling the phone number shown at the right. You can get more information about John and Tres Coaching Services™ here, and about his new book on Amazon.

Hope to see you Friday morning!

The Heart and Soul of Animal Rescue

Southlake Chamber Book Connection regular Roy Krymis has a movie coming out this month.

Wow, doesn't that sound impressive? It should—this has been Roy's dream for years, and he worked very, very hard to make it happen. He's always had a passion for animals, particularly rescue animals, and their relationships with the people who help and protect them. He was also very interested in the process of movie making, so combining the two interests seemed pretty natural.

Natural, but not easy. It was a long, slow process, starting with Roy learning some of the ins and outs of making a documentary, necessitating many, many trips back and forth between DFW and Los Angeles. He spent a few years getting all the details lined up, and all the obstacles cleared away. He and his film crew finally started actual shooting a few months ago. Then came editing. Then arranging distribution and DVD publication.

And now The Heart and Soul of Animal Rescue is in a movie theater.

The Book Connection group has shared in this adventure with him (in a we-only-talk-once-a-month kind of way), so we're all looking forward to seeing the finished product. Please join us!

You can buy tickets in advance, get more information and see a clip from the movie at Spinners End Media.

Congratulations, Roy, and I can't wait to see it!

Great article by Forbes

Forbes.com has some really helpful tips about networking.

It's sometimes tough to walk into a room full of people you don't know, especially if you're at all shy. Personally, I often have to gird my mental loins before I dive in, and still there are times I'm just too awkward—or shy or uncomfortable or lazy or something—to do much besides hang out with the people I already know. That's not the most productive use of networking time! The Forbes article has some great advice on how to do it better.

BTW, I talked about the article on OP's Facebook page. Check it out!