If you have a business, you may have started it for many different reasons. To stay home with the kids. To get away from the 9 to 5 routine. Where you could make lots of money with little investment. But that’s not most of us — particularly those of us who are in the gift/gift … Read more
Make this world a better place. Make your industry a better place. Make your home a better place. A tall order? Impossible? Not at all. You can do it—starting with you. Many years ago, when I was living in Yreka, California, I saw problems in the town — problems that I felt the City Council … Read more
During my lifetime, I’ve lived in towns and cities of all sizes. Large cities like Washington DC and Berkeley, California. Mid-sized cities like Pensacola, Florida and San Jose, California. Small cities like Santa Cruz, California and Flagstaff, Arizona (where I finally landed). But since my husband was a forest ranger, we’ve lived in some tiny … Read more
Are you dumping your used coffee grounds into the trash or down the sink? Don’t! There are better uses for them that you have probably never thought of or known about. 1. How about using coffee grounds as to feed your plants? Coffee is highly acidic and makes great plant food. Your tomatoes, hydrangeas, blueberries, … Read more
When I was in elementary school (many, many years ago), I was assigned to a choir for a school play. When the teacher told me to just mouth the words, I discovered that singing was not my gift. That was confirmed once again in the ninth grade when I tried out for the school glee … Read more
Mistakes aren’t always bad. They can actually be very good sometimes. And they can even prove to be very profitable. A well-known example is the accidental discovery of pencillian. Two other, but lesser known, examples are “Post-It Notes” and “Chocolate Chip Cookies.” Post-It Notes, sometimes called sticky notes were invented until the early 70’s. Art … Read more
Some people fold after making one timid request. They quit too soon. Keep asking until you find the answers. In sales there are usually four or five “no’s” before you get a “yes.” Jack Canfield There are a number of reasons why a business folds and closes its doors. But many of them quit too … Read more
Ken Blanchard, author of “The One Minute Manager” and other business books, told the story about the little boy who really wanted to beat his grandmother at Monopoly. He studied. He practiced. He learned. Until one day, he beat her at the game and told her, “Finally! I beat you.” She smiled as she picked … Read more
Way back in 1961 or ’62, I met a very special lady who taught me two secrets of success that I still remember today. My husband and I had been married for about a year. Ron had just got out of the Navy and we had returned to his home town of Santa Cruz, California … Read more
I’ve enjoyed creative writing ever since my freshman year in college when the professor was a published fiction writer in Saturday Evening Post magazine. He required us to submit one ceative piece each week and I was hooked. As a result, years later I discoverd the Santa Barbara Writer’s Conference. For a whole week each … Read more
History is important and it is incredibly sad to see it disappear only to be seen in old photos and memories. Last year, Big Basin State Park, filled with ancient redwoods and historic buildings, became a victim of the ongoing fires in Santa Cruz County, California. Most of the redwoods, with their fire resistant bark, … Read more
I grew up in the South where nuggets of wisdom were a fact of life. Here are some ones for life as well as business. They may be tongue in cheek but each and every one of them is oh so true! Don’t name a pig you plan to eat. Life is not about how … Read more