Monday, September 7, 2009

The Roller Coaster of Life

All of us in life have dreams and goals that we strive to achieve. What hurts your self-esteem the most is when you feel you have achieved one of those dreams and it ends up slipping away from you. Recently, I lost such a dream that I felt had been achieved and it has really changed my life.

You can try to give a 100% percent to everything in your life, but the key thing to remember is that you can only give 100% percent to one part at a time. Sometimes you feel that you are evenly spreading the percentage of your time to all parts of your life and given importance to the right parts, but there is no way to know if you ever have that percentage completely correct. There are other factors that play a role in some of your dreams, and some of those factors you have no control over and never will have control over. The best thing that you can do is ensure that you have not left anything on the table and have said or done everything you can possibly do to make your dreams reality.

Remember that every dream that you have achieved in your life can slip away or be taken away. You can never become complacent and feel that you are doing enough to hold onto your dream because if you start to lose your grip on that dream there might not be anything you can do to keep from losing it. I know that everything I have stated seems almost like common sense, but even though I wrote and know the things stated above I still lost a dream that meant more to me than any other dream that I have ever achieved.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Exploring the World of Social Networking

The world of business and marketing as we all know is constantly changing and evolving into many different effective models. The newest model that is growing in popularity, but has been around since the beginning of time is social networking. People have always communicated with their friends about something new they just learned that might help a friend or about a way that they know of to solve a friends problem. What has happened to the business world as with other industries is that individuals have expanded their base of friends and acquaintances through the use of the Internet.

The Internet has become a tool that is now almost a necessity for any business. If your business or the company you work for does not have a good website, then the impression that perceived by outsiders is that your company is not very successful. Other companies that are in the same line of business with a better website can and most likely will steal your business because they are contacted first. The business that receives the first phone call or talks to a potential customer first has the advantage and with a good sales staff will keep a prospective client's search for services with their company. Some more advantages of the Internet are the use of tools like blogs and interest groups, but the largest business producing tool of our generation is the use of networking websites. Networking websites reconnect individuals with old friends, classmates or just individuals that have the same interests as themselves.

I have made networking part of my life over the past year since discovering the knowledge that can be learned and opportunities that can be gained to improve the company that I work for, plus the advantages it can bring to my career. I still live in my hometown of Houston where I attended the University of Houston which has given me the ability to network not only through the Internet, but also through joining local groups that meet in person to discuss business matters and to introduce business alumni members to each other. The experiences that I have been part of over the past year have brought into my life memorable moments and individuals that I feel will be part of my life forever.

The objective of networking is not to seek out others that are going to make you successful or be the answer to your problem. The goal you need to have in mind when you decide to make networking part of your life is that you are trying to build relationships with other individuals that you have or can build a common ground with on issues or topics that matter to you. I have found that by becoming a more involved part of my U of H Bauer College of Business alumni groups that have been developed to spread the word about UH, but also to help alumni of the business college grow in their careers through shared knowledge and experiences. Since I started dedicating time to networking I have scheduled meetings with my CEO for fellow alumni to present their services and received recommendations for my company from alumni to their clients. Results from networking are not seen immediately because you need to build a rapport with the group or individuals that you are trying to do business with. Put some time and effort into the mission of building your network and you will reap tremendous benefits down the road.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Lessons learned from Hurricane Ike

We always hear that you need to be prepared for hurricane or any other natural disaster that might befall yourself or your family. I to have had that voice in the back of my head that said "Heed the warnings and make sure you are ready for the worse,". That voice must not have been loud enough for me to hear clearly enough to become prepared. Luckily, Hurricane Ike did not damage my house severely and we were able to seek shelter in Austin from Hurricane Ike, but I could have planned better to have certain items such as an emergency fund or equipment that would have helped us cope with the results left by Hurrican Ike.

I do want to thank God for blessing my family and home with safe-keeping before, during and after the hurricane. The message of being prepared for a natural disaster is not just meant for your personal life, but also for businesses. Everyone needs to have that backup plan that will always allow you to get back on top of your mountain of success that you have established whether that be personal or professional.

My advice after making through Hurrican Ike okay are to next have these items taking care of prior to the next natural disaster:
1) Have all insurance coverages in order (had this one)
2) Have emergency cash set away
3) Have emergency survival items readily available
4) Have multiple evacuation plans for different storm scenarios that could occur

Everyone needs to have these items taking care of because no matter where you live Mother Nature has many different pitches that she can throw. I will be ready next time, but will you.