Often in my life I have had periods where being discouraged seemed to be at the top of my perspective.  There are always ups and downs.   When discouraged, one of the things that has seemed to help me over the years has been reading an Abraham Lincoln plaque on perseverance, that I received as a gift.  It seems to lift my spirits and reminds me that great success often comes after lots and lots of failure.   A great friend and coworker of mine, somehow managed to move this plaque into his office, which was fine by me.  After that, when feeling the need to get a good reminder on determinate and perseverance, I got to visit my great friend and re-read it at the same time.  Since my friend transferred to another office, I thought to post it up so I can re-read it from time to and and for others to enjoy.

PERSEVERANCE

Abe Lincoln

He FAILED in businesss in ’31.
He was DEFEATED for state legislator in ’32.
He tried another business in ’33, it FAILED.
His Fiancee Died in ’35.
He had a nervous BREAKDOWN in ’36.
In ’43 he ran for Congress and was DEFEATED.
He tried again in ’48 and was DEFEATED again.
He tried running for the Senate in ’55, He LOST.
The next year he ran for Vice President and LOST.
In ’59 he ran for the Senate again and was DEFEATED.
In 1860, the main who signed his name A. Lincoln, was elected the 16th PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

The difference between history’s boldest accomplishments,
and its most staggering failures is often, simply,
the diligent will to persevere.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

 

Abe Lincoln Perseverance Plague

This isn’t a sales pitch, but I believe this plaque came from the Successories store.  Here’s a link should you want your own copy.

 

 

Get A Hair Cut?

Get A Hair Cut?

Sometimes fun just must be had at work.

We have a deal. I getta grow my hair out until we hit our sales goals. It started in March and by Oct, we hit it.  Once again, the RealTruck crew delivers.

Buzz Cut Time

 

One always hears people talk in terms of success and failure.  But defining, what success is can be somewhat difficult.   Here is one of the better definitions I have found.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and love much;
to win the respect of intelligent persons
and the affections of children,
to earn the approbations of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to give oneself;
to leave the world a bit better whether
by a healthy child, a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to have played and laughed with enthusiasm;
and sung with exultation;
to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

President's DayHappy President’s Day

Here are 5 Quotes from Presidents worth remembering.   Comment below if you have a few more worth passing on.

“If hard work is not another name for talent, it is the best possible substitute for it.” -James Garfield

“Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.” -Thomas Jefferson

“Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. … Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.” -Barack Obama

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”  -Franklin D. Roosevelt

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” -Harry S. Truman

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” -John F. Kennedy

 

Peak by Chip ConleyYes, I want to be a peaker.  With having trouble getting the energy to continue reading a different book for a week or so, and at the same time battling with the my principle that “one should finish what they started”, I finally decided to sacrifice my principle, (for a little while), and read another book instead.   That new book was Peak, How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow by Chip Conley.  Wow, what a great decision.  This is the absolute best business book I have personally read.  It is packed with extraordinary stories, principles and how to’s.  Yes, Yes, I want to be a peaker.

Most of us want to have a peak experience and better yet, keep and grow it.   Abraham Maslow called this self-actualization and Chip Conley refers to it as peak experience.  Lately, I have been pondering why people often have great personal values, but seem to be in fear of living by them in a workplace.  So they are saying, yes I have values, but I will ignore them at work, as living them might bring negative consequences.  Is getting paid more important than living by one’s personal values?  Most of us have a value of wanting to learn and grow, as a person.  My question is how much time do you spending practicing that value?  Most of us have a value of wanting to be honest.  Why is it that often people struggle with being transparent with a customer or fellow employee?  Why can’t a business practice the values of its’ people?  What is stopping us?  Perhaps it’s fear.  I believe we can be inspired to change it.  The book, Peak, is a great example of this.  What Chip has done with his company and is passing on to us is truly inspiring.  Our company, RealTruck.com has developed some core values that aims to help focus, guide us and inspire us to building a better (hopefuly great) company.  The information in this book, will definitely help us on our quest. Continue reading »

 

Martin Luther King Jr.


“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Website OptimizationToday, we hear lots of buzz about SEO (search engine optimization).  Generally the goal is to increase your keyword ranking in google, yahoo and bing.   This is certainly important.  However, basic website optimization is the starting point.  It’s a must, if you have a website, whether personal or business.   The best thing you can do is make it search engine friendly.   Forget about buzz words, link building strategies and quick fix SEO and online marketing companies and first focus on the basics.  Not to say those things are not important, rather start with the basics and build from there.   I like to refer to it as basic website optimization.  Make it easy for the search engines to “read” and understand your website.  There numerous tips regarding moving up your rankings and building an online presence, both of which are other topics.

Here are 10 basic tips to optimize a website. Remember, a website is virtually worthless if a search engine can’t read it or has trouble indexing it. Continue reading »

 

Crush It BookFacebook, twitter, youtube, friends feed, wordpress and many others like them, are transforming the world  every day and in every way.   Transparency rules and the stiff minded, close to the vest, thinker has been left in the dust.

One of the more interesting reads on the subject is the book, Crush It, written by Gary Vaynerchuck.

Like all great books, I discovered some interesting concepts to bring forward into my own adventures.   Including doing a weekly video to now goes out to our entire company discussing what’s happening.  The feedback has been amazing and has added from addition fun to our culture.  When talking with friends, who are looking for ideas on how to take what they are doing to the next level, this book comes to mind and is often at the top of the stack. Continue reading »

 

John Quincy Adams“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”.

John Quincy Adams

True leadership doesn’t come from authority, but rather how you can inspire others to action.  Helping someone do better than the thought they could do is the essence.  This quote says it all.

Enjoy and Pass It On.

 

Fishing For Happiness

Fishing for Happiness.

When something is good or great, we sometimes want to make it bigger.   Sometimes bigger is not always better.  Here is a great story about a fisherman and happiness.   Not sure why fishing is often involved in inspiring or insightful stories, but it is what it is.

Brazilian Fisherman Story About Happiness

Enjoy and Pass It On.

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