A Grain of Sand

A Grain of Sand

I hear them all the time, people complaining about this or that on Facebook, Twitter, in the line at the store, sitting at Starbucks, everywhere. Everyone has something to complain about. Is it human nature? I don’t know. I do know this though, whether it be from my years or my experience. You’re either part of the Problem or your part of the Solution.

This is a great saying and one I adopted years ago even though it took me some time to realize “Oh yeah, you have to put it in action if you’re gonna preach it.”

We stand on a beach and look at the sand beneath our feet. You can’t readily see one grain of sand, but if you were to count out 200,000 grains of sand and pile them up, they would now be noticeable to you. 500,000?, a million? Now your seeing even more of them and they make a difference in the overall landscape of the beach.

I can not tell you how long and how many times I have gone into Walmart and by the time I leave, I am so angry and disgusted with so many aspects of that experience. One day, as I stood in line with my wife waiting to check out, it finally hit me. Why the hell am I subjecting myself to these feelings if I truly can not tolerate what I experience here. From that day forward, I have not stepped foot in that store again.  Is it a matter of principle? Hell yeah. Do I think that my not shopping there has made any difference in the way they do business? I’m not so naïve as to believe that I alone can cause so significant a change but let’s see. What would happen if 200,000 people just all of a sudden stopped shopping there. 500,000?, a Million?, five million? It is said that “You have to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything”  It’s true and in this country, we all follow along like so many sheep in a herd. We don’t like it, but will we do anything about it. I saw on Twitter today where certain colored cheap crappy flip flops from China cause serious harm to peoples feet. This story has actually been out for nearly ten years. Shocking I’ve heard many people say, but do they do anything about it. What if every American simply stopped buying them in protest. Do you think it might have an effect? Especially if it became newsworthy?

We’ve heard about their (China’s) drywall, their dog food, baby items, the list goes on, but do we stop buying their crap? No. Instead, we complain about it and walk right back into Walmart or wherever else they sell their crap and eagerly buy more of it.

“You’re either part of the Problem or you’re part of the solution” applies to so many areas of our lives. We simply tolerate people who do nothing but complain and bring us down as opposed to saying “I’m done, I will no longer hang around a person with so much negativity” or “But I can’t afford to shop elsewhere” or “My vote doesn't matter” (Well, you might actually be right about the last one, but…)

I've said it time after time, if a united front took a stand against one thing at a time, you would see dramatic changes take place.

Let’s use a simple example. Let’s say that you and several other of your friends, neighbors, etc are tired of paying an exorbitant price for a given object. Letters to the company by you or others have no effect. They continue to reap the obscene profit they always have. Now let’s see what would happen if say you were able to start a grassroots campaign that eventually garnered eight million people to stop buying this product until the price is adjusted. Don’t you think that those “upstairs” executives might just come back from their country club lunches and sit down and ask themselves “How do we stop this tidal wave of dissent” “Hey, maybe we should lower the price?”

I know, I know, there are many of you who think I’m naive or nuts to believe this, but what if? What if there really is a “power to the people” as has been suggested. What if those millions of grains of sand do in fact cause someone to trip or stumble as they walk along the beach? What if you and ten million other like minded people just stood up and shouted “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”

I’m a writer, so I have a great and vivid imagination, but everyone that exists has an imagination. Now imagine you actually can be a part of the solution.

Help a Writer get published...
https://pubslush.com/books/id/3311 - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-s-publish-a-book--2/x/1496569 

  

@RMVCARD

Will e-coaching work for you?

What Can A Legitimate E-Coaching Service Offer You? Original article By Rudolph Scarlett / provided by Bob Villoria - Coach / Mentor

People are constantly looking for a coach / mentor and guidance in a wide array of categories. As a result, there are numerous options to choose from when searching for an e-coaching or e-mentoring service. While it is nice to have options, it can be difficult deciphering one from the next. For this reason, here are some things a legitimate service will have to offer you.
First and foremost, you want to look for a program that is there for you. The beauty of an e-coaching service is generally the guidance is available 24/7.
It is supposed to be there at your luxury, and the top services will cater to your needs and wants. It is you who is seeking assistance and you who deserves the attention.
Not only should the service cater to your needs, but it needs to offer assistance specifically geared toward what you are looking for. Every service is going to have their own ways of doing things, but it is vital the coaching or mentoring focuses on your weak points, strengths, and demands. It should not be a generic service that remains the same from student to student.
Tracking progress is crucial toward development as it allows you to see where you have come from. A legitimate e-coaching service will have you set goals, both short-term and long, to attain. From there, they should offer daily or weekly goal updates of some sort so it is easy to see the progress.

About Bob...

With over 45 years of experience working with individuals and business owners alike, Bob brings to the table a unique style as well as a wealth of knowledge and expertise for both personal and business issues. His ongoing desire to understand the dynamics and psychology of human behavior has fed Bob's passion for helping others achieve success in their lives and their livelihood.

Bob isn't your typical "paint you blue sky" type of coach. He's objective and honest in guiding you to a better life. He'll give you straight answers with an expectation that you will act on them.

For the business owner, Bob is dedicated to improving profit, productivity, life balance and vision.

 I hope that you will give me the opportunity to work alongside you in achieving your goals.

THE BOTTOM LINE...

I have for some time now read many, many articles as well as seen many ads regarding social media for business and one of the consistent themes throughout seem to be analytics. Do you find yourself staring at your analytics and continually asking yourself: 

"Why is no one visiting my site?" or "Why am I not getting the results I want?"

Rather than getting frustrated with your traffic results, consider the root of the issue: 

...your visibility.

Getting back all that information helps many people in understanding the marketplace as well as the demographic they're pursuing. But if you ask any business owner the simple question of "What do you ultimately want to gain through social media", the answer is usually a consistent "More Sales"
So although all that gathered information with charts, diagrams  etc. is good to have, if you're not really visible to your potential customers, your sales probably aren't where you want them to be.
My bottom line after many years of owning and operating businesses, as well as marketing for others has been...visibility, visibility, visibility. 
Business visibility - essential to any business that wants more sales. But how do you get greater visibility? 

Well, lets see; You could have thousands of trucks driving around America like Coca Cola does, or if you're lucky, you could have your Brand placement in countless TV shows or movies. The most important aspect of course is simply being seen repetitively day after day. But how exactly do you do that? Quite literally there are a myriad of ways but today I'm concentrating on social media. If you're not handling it yourself, then you should have someone who is putting your brand out there on a consistent basis. After all, the bottom line for you should be how often you hear that "bell" ring at the front door. 

So if your bottom line is in fact that you simply want more sales, consider either doing more social media yourself or hiring someone to diligently do it for you. 

You may even want to consider me.

 About the author...Bob Villoria  is an experienced Sales and Marketing consultant with over 45 years experience.  He helps business owners get more clients through social media marketing. He is also a writer.

Born and raised in the state of New York, R.M. Villoria began his writing career as a prolific songwriter. After two back-to-back tours as a Marine in Vietnam, Villoria spent the next few years owning and operating a myriad of businesses and in 1992 returned to writing, this time appeasing his appetite for suspense and horror fiction.

 

Years in the making, his ghostly tales touching on the underpinnings of quantum physics and the paranormal are now ready for the public. As his first published work, Villoria presents readers with Volume One of his series “Tales From the Mind Field.”  

 Villoria has a son and daughter and lives in Las Vegas with his Wife.

Water Worries

I've always tried to find the simplest ways to solve problems that arise around me and to that end, I can't help but feel that there is a relatively simple fix to the water "crisis" I hear about on the evening news here in Las Vegas all the time. I mean I won't even address the issue of apartment complexes watering nearly 24/7 while water runs off the sidewalks and driveways, but a bigger issue seems to be the insistence of people who, although we live in the desert, insist on having rolling lawns of green grass everywhere.
How about this SNWA, give property owners a generous tax credit if they replace their lawns with natural desert landscaping.
Some of that landscaping is actually quite beautiful and think of all the savings across the board. If a real incentive is in place I think most people would realize the benefit.
I also think it's being a bit more proactive rather than reactive.
Seems like a fairly simple fix to me.
If you have any thoughts on the subject or would like to promote this idea, feel free to do so below or you can email me at: rmvcard@aol.com

Anatomy of a Mentor

I have been mentoring people for more than thirty-five years while running my other businesses. Now that I'm retired (sort of), I decided to commit to mentoring on a full time basis. I saw this article recently and found it to be spot on in describing what I provide for my clients. And so, I pass it along to you.

I am frequently asked one or more of the following questions regarding the anatomy of a mentor:

·                            What is mentoring?

·                            Who can be a mentor?

·                            When to get a mentor?

·                            Where and how can you find a mentor?

·                            How to determine fees and related value of a mentor?

Let’s start by defining mentor. A mentor is a seasoned, wise and reliable guide and teacher. Its synonyms are counselor, guide, tutor, teacher, guru, supporter and advisor. This provides important clues to the answers to above questions. This definition also tells us the qualities a mentor needs to posses and what is to be expected of a mentor.

All too often, mentoring is confused with coaching. These two things are not the same. You will notice that coach is not a synonym of mentor. Coaching primarily involves teaching and training. The coach is expected to have a working knowledge of the specific area and an ability to train others in that field.

Mentorship is a fully engaged personal relationship for developmental purposes. A seasoned, more experienced or more knowledgeable person who has attained expertise and wisdom through learning and experience, guides a less experienced or less knowledgeable person on an ongoing basis. True mentoring is more than just answering sporadic questions or occasionally providing informal help. It is an ongoing relationship.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is about an enduring relationship of teaching and learning through ongoing dialog and interaction. Mentoring involves informal imparting of knowledge, strategies and tactics. It entails communication, guidance and support during a sustained period of time, as it is pertinent to work, career, and personal and professional development.

Who can be a mentor?

A mentor is a seasoned, wise and reliable guide and teacher. This simple description spells out the qualifications a mentor must have in order to be able to deliver. Being seasoned and wise is typically a result of formal and informal education and real-life experience gained through the school of hard-knocks. Reliability is a personality trait, as is the commitment to teach. Have a candid conversation with your potential mentor and learn about his or her background, qualifications and general outlook. This will help you ensure compatibility.

When to get a mentor?

You will find having a mentor to be optimally beneficial in one of the two circumstances. First, a mentor can help you become better equipped to meet a specific goal in personal or professional development. Second, when you are faced with an unexpected situation, conflict or crisis, dealing with which appears to be beyond your capabilities.

Where and how can you find a mentor?

Finding a suitable mentor can be a challenge. Even a search on the Internet may not easily lead you to one. A coach is not the same as a mentor. The best way to find one is to use the same methods you use to find other professionals, like doctors, dentists, attorneys etc. Ask for referrals from your network. Most importantly, when you find someone whom you think can be a good mentor for you; it’s time to have a candid conversation. Make sure you understand his or her expectations, method of working and do’s and don’ts. Then spell out your own objectives, expectations and do’s and don’ts. Compatibility is key. It is always a good idea to clearly define the parameters of a relationship, particularly one such as this.

How to determine fees and related value of a mentor?

A thorough evaluation of the benefits you will gain from being mentored is a good place to start. Then determine the dollar value of those benefits and measure that against the fees. You must also factor in the knowledge and long-term benefits that you will receive, even after the mentoring arrangement has ended. It is important to know upfront about all costs, fees and when you are expected to pay those fees.

If reading this article has triggered questions, or you wish to chat about this or any other relevant subject, feel free to connect with me, directly. My contact information is: rmvcard@aol.com  or  702-466-9697

About RadioTrader

Well, it appears I will have to put off airing my show RadioTrader here in Vegas for awhile. Try as I might, finding people who actually want to work is waaaay more difficult these days than ever before. I ran into this problem back in 2010 when I was hiring sales personnel for my other business up in northern Nevada as well. Seems with the economy being what it is, nobody wants to work for straight commission.  It's funny to because, that was always the desired position years ago since there was no cap on how much a person could make. I get it though. People need guarantees these days. Nevertheless, it's frustrating when you hear about all these people out of work.
I could now go off on a tangent and and ask the question "Why doesn't anybody want to work", but that's a whole other area I don't want to get into here. I'm sure you can add to this as well.
So the windup is...look for RadioTrader to pop up here in Vegas at a future date.
Thanks to everyone who was anxiously awaiting the show.
Hang in there.

Bob V

Common Sense?

Common sense....often times I hear someone say."Don't they have any common sense"? The obvious answer is "No"
Because common sense isn't something someone just has.  We're not born with common sense. It has to be taught and shown examples of. For generations now, it simply hasn't been. Why? I really can't answer that except to  conclude that somewhere over time people just got tired of thinking things out and decided to just do whatever was easiest and damn the consequences.  I've related a story countless times to not only my children, but others who have posed that question outlined at the beginning of this piece.
I dated a gal for a short time many years ago who had a young son. His bedroom was an absolute disaster. You basically couldn't see the floor. I being something of a neat freak apparently intimidated this girlfriend into trying to get her son to clean up his room. She would send him in there time after time to clean up but he would inevitably end up sitting on the side of his bed staring at the wall. You know, that deer in the headlight stare. The girlfriend would say to me "I don't get it. By this age you'd think he'd have enough common sense to see how messy his room is and want to fix it"
I finally gave in to my temptation and sat her down one afternoon for a chat. Her own room wasn't anything to shout about either though she tried hard to impress me with her limited domestic abilities.
I asked her if she had ever...I mean EVER gone into his room and showed him HOW to clean his room? After some thought she conceded that "No, not really "showed" him but told him what to do. Of course for most of his formative years he had only to glance into his Mom's room for the example.
Expecting people to behave in a certain way means that you believe that they may have been taught to, yet sadly that is not necessarily nor even commonly the case. So the next time you see young people or even adults behaving badly and you ask " Don't these people have any common sense"?
Chances are they don't and it's not their fault.

Bob Villoria  is an experienced Sales and Marketing consultant with over 45 years experience who helps business owners get more clients through social media marketing. He is also a personal and business development coach/mentor with an online practice available at RMVCARD.com 
Also a writer of horror fiction.