smarter every day magazine - vol1 issue2

Smarter Every Day MagazineSmarter Every Day MagazineVol 1 Issue 2Vol 1 Issue 2

Smarter Every Day Magazine Vol 1 Issue 2

Table of Contents

Letter from the Editor.....................................................................................................3

The Most Valuable and Essential Things in Life..........................................................4

Ugly Duckling or Swan?..................................................................................................8

Good Habits ... Essential For Personal & Professional Success................................12

Being Serious Won't Make You Silly, Yet Being Silly Can Help You Be More Serious.............................................................................................................................17

The Tattoo.......................................................................................................................24

The Times They Are'a Changin'!.................................................................................27

Copyright © 2010 Smarter Every Day. All Rights Reserved Page | 2


Jimmy Smart

Letter from the Editor

As I stood in the hospital room looking at my friend's four hour old baby girl, I could not help but think about the wonderful feeling new beginnings bring. The newness... the unknown... the innocence. Obviously, the birth of a child is the ultimate new beginning, but the excitement of something new doesn't always have to come in small packages. It can be anything from a beginning a new job to moving into a new home or it can be reading a new book.

The list of new beginnings may be endless but the challenge is short and simple. In the coming month, I challenge you to break your norm and add something new to your life. It doesn't have to be expensive or time consuming. Start taking a walk after dinner. Take the stairs at work. Plant a garden. It's up to you. My only criteria is that it has to be new, give you some sort of enthusiasm and is self rewarding.

I thank you for being a part of my new beginning.

Jimmy SmartEditor/Publisher



Billy Arcement

The Most Valuable and Essential Things in Life

No one is born neutral! We all come into the world with enough “basic wiring” to conduct

a current. Whatever “charge” we make on the world depends upon how well we tap our

own natural resources. My belief is that all of us have sufficient talents and skills to do

what we truly desire to do with our lives. Notice I didn’t say, “Wish to do.” I said, “Truly

desire!”

What is your true desire? What have you defined as your life’s purpose? What do you

want the world to remember about your time here? What difference do you want to

make? These are very tough questions that demand much thought to get meaningful

answers. The strength of the answers depends directly on how well you use your pool of

talents and skills. Here are four valuable, essential things we bring to life that help

maximize these natural skills

Our Ability to Think! No other living organism has the brainpower we possess.



However, most people are reluctant to practice this skill. They want everyone else to

think for them. They just want to do and not think. It’s almost like if they use their brain,

it will wear out. What non-thinkers fail to realize is that if you don’t use it, you just might

lose it. Consider your brain to be like a muscle that needs exercise to grow stronger. A

failure to exercise both will lead to weaker muscles and weaker thoughts.

Our Ability to Take Action on Our Thoughts! If you do nothing with the knowledge

you gain by thinking, it’s no different than not thinking at all. Make ACTION on your

knowledge the way that you do business. Don’t let inertia become the glue that binds

you to inactivity and ineffectiveness. The world isn’t ready to hand us success. We must

take action on our goals if we are to achieve them.

Our Ability to Get Results from Our Action! What are the results you seek from life?

Where do you wish your career to go? How much education do I need in order to grow

my career? Answering these questions and taking action to make them become reality is

the only way we can get results. If we don’t forget the law of cause and effect—in

essence, we reap what we sow—we are clearer on what actions we need to produce the

results we seek. But, we must remember that only the right actions produce the right



results.

Our Free Will! The power to choose, like our ability to think, is a unique gift. We don’t

have to rely on instinct like other animals. We can think and thus make choices. While

this wonderful ability is given to us free of charge, we often forget we can choose. Every

decision we make is a choice and every decision we make moves us towards some end

result. Don’t like the results you’re getting? The remedy is simply—change the actions

and your decisions. The gift of choice and a free will are the crown jewels we should

cherish and value and irreplaceable.

Why not spend time thinking and formulating goals you truly desire to achieve? Make

detailed action steps for their achievement. Don’t quit until you reach your destination.

And, along the way, always remember that you have a free will and can make choices to

adjust the journey and guarantee success. What a bargain!



About the AuthorBilly Arcement is a professional speaker/author, MEd—The Leadership Strategist, shares his messages on common sense leadership and personal development with business, government and education leaders. He authored Searching For Success, now internationally published. His newest book, Journeying on Holy Ground, provides insightful guidance for establishing priorities on life’s journey. His website, www.SearchingForSuccess.com provides information about his services.


http://www.SearchingForSuccess.com/


Bonnie Snyder

Ugly Duckling or Swan?

Who thought swans would be the refresher with a message? After going to the dentist, I

decided I needed to recharge my batteries and enjoy a bit of nature before my next

couching session. I stopped by a nearby park with a lake and a lovely view. I found a

towel in the car. (I had my husband's car so I didn't have my beach chair in the trunk.)

It was one of those beautiful days of spring before the heat of our Florida summer. I

thought it would be lovely to just sit and enjoy some peace and quiet.

As I headed to a familiar part of the park, I heard the laughing and playful voices of

children, many children. I love the sounds of children's voices but after hearing drilling at

the dentist I just wanted quiet. I headed towards the other end of lake. As I sat down on

my little towel, my attention was caught by the swans. At this lake you can rent swan

boats and you usually see swans, but the swans I saw first were in pairs and they were

black! I had never seen black swans before. Maybe I just live a sheltered life. Who



knows? They were a beautiful sight.

I enjoyed the swans that, on this particular day, were traversing the water in pairs. Two

pairs of black swans and next a pair of swans with black necks and white bodies both

perfectly matched. Then finally I saw the white swans. It was lovely to watch them

gracefully float on the water. I have never seen birds so gracefully catch and swallow

fish. Although I only stayed a short while, I felt a welling up in my heart of joy, just

watching the ease and loveliness of the swans.

As many of you know animals can be symbols and represent certain ideas. I thought

about the traditional ugly duckling story that recognizes they are a beautiful swan. That

is a wonderful metaphor for our ability to really recognize when we accept ourselves we

become ‘beautiful” and graceful because we aren’t trying to be something we aren’t.

Being yourself is much easier. I also wanted to know more so I looked up the animal

message of swans. So here they are: “begin to realize your own true beauty”. Then I

looked up black swan: “represents love, both self love and romantic love, happiness in

yourself, the healing power of love and miracles”.

I think the message is obvious but maybe not. You choose – no one else does. Are you



an ugly duckling or a swan? Be your authentic self without hesitation. Your journey will

be easier and more grace.

Wishing you the grace of the swans.

About the Author

Bonnie Snyder, Ed.S., CPC is an Energy Alignment, Life Balance Coach and graduate of the Authentic Happiness Coaching program. She was trained as an Educational Psychologist with an M.S. in Education and Ed.S in School Psychology. In her counseling practice she found the number one problem for her clients was stress. Bonnie discovered that reducing the stress response in the body opened the door to release what was keeping her clients stuck. Visit www.serenitypathways.com for the first and only Online Spa, where you can destress in 10 minutes or less.


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Donna Satchell

Good Habits ... Essential For Personal & Professional Success

In today’s busy world, more so than ever, habits are key for personal and professional

success. Habits are essential because they allow us to do things without thinking about

it. What would your life be like if you had to think through everything you did through

every moment of every day? Just imagine actually having to think through all the

decisions you made about driving to work...inserting the key into the ignition, turning

the key, releasing the brake, checking your rear view mirror, checking your side mirrors,

backing out of the garage. Our minds would be overwhelmed with regular everyday

activities if we had to make moment-to-moment decisions about everything.

Webster’s dictionary defines a habit as an acquired mode of behavior that as become

nearly or completely involuntary. Notice it does not indicate whether it is good or bad.

That is determined by the habit itself. If the habits are good they are short-cuts to



automatic decision-making, allowing us to move more quickly through life, accomplishing

more leading to our success. However, if bad, they are short-cuts to automatic decision-

making that can result in us accomplishing less and being unsuccessful. Let us look at

three habits have can easily determine our success in life or lack there of: self talk,

personal associations, food choices.

• Self talk is the inner conversation we have with ourselves at every moment of

everyday. This conversation helps to determine our attitude and as the famous saying

indicates “Our attitude determines our altitude.” What are your inner conversations

like? Are they filled with lots of negative thoughts about things you feel you cannot do

because of the lack of education, money, time or knowing the right people? Negative

self-talk can become a habit, a way of thinking that is automatic and prevents us from

doing the things we can do to achieve our goals and dreams. How can we stop that

from happening?

In the One Minute Millionaire, Robert Allen and Mark Victor Hansen, write about a

rubber band exercise that I believe can help us in that area. They recommend you



wear a rubber band around your wrist for 21 days. Every time you find yourself

thinking or saying something negative you slightly pull on the rubber band so that it

pops against your skin. You do not pull on it hard causing a bruise or damage to your

wrist. But rather just enough so you realize you are thinking negative. At that point you

are to replace the negative thought with something more positive and affirming; a

thought which can move you forward instead of holding you back. They indicate you

should do the rubber band exercise for at least 21 days because it takes that amount of

time to start to change the negative thought pattern.

• Personal associations are the people we choose to interact with on a regular basis. The

question is are they positive or negative. If they are negative, their limited way of

thinking can rub off on us and then we end up thinking negatively. Like self-talk the

type of people we choose to associate with can become a habit. So you should

determine what your pattern is. Do you find yourself with friends who are pursuing

ambitious and worthwhile goals and dreams? Or are your friends stuck in a rut of

mediocrity. Be honest with yourself as you think about them. If you find they are more

of the latter than the former, you will want to make some changes. Begin by



broadening the people you spend time with. Join organizations of individuals of people

are doing more with their lives, like an Optimists Club or Toastmasters Club. Start

spending less and less time with those who are negative so you can create more time

for those who are positive and moving forward.

• Like self-talk and personal associations, food choices can become a habit. Those

habits can lead to a life-time of good health or bad health. With the alarming increase

in diabetes and other food-related diseases, we cannot afford for bad food choices to

become a habit. What do you find yourself eating everyday? Are fast-food restaurants

where you usually go for lunch or dinner? Are you eating the recommended number of

fruits and vegetables daily? Are you drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water a

day? Consciously monitor your unconscious food choices by keeping a daily diary of

what you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. After a week, check the listing, if

you find your choices are less than you desire, start making better decisions your

routine as opposed to the exception.



Changing our habits regarding our self-talk, personal associations and food choices can

help lead to having more successful lives.

About the Author

Donna Satchell of STARR Consulting & Training is a achievement & business speaker, success skills trainer, author, and the creator of the Just Get Serious® programs that inform, motivate and propel people into action towards greater success. She provides seminars on customer service, teamwork, time management, public speaking. She also delivers exciting motivational speeches which inspire individuals to live more rewarding, fulfilling and successful lives. Visit www.JustGetSerious.com for information about programs/products and to view videos of Donna's speeches.


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Robert Alan Black, Ph.D

Being Serious Won't Make You Silly, Yet Being Silly Can Help You Be More Serious

Over 35 years of working in creative fields and working with people striving to be more

creative or use more creativity I have discovered that silly has its place in the serious

workplace.

Since first attending CPSI in 1978 I have met hundreds of consultants, business leaders,

managers, trainers and educators that have shared how they use silly as a serious

creativity tool.

Silly putty, toys, props, balloons, water guns, noise makers, practical jokes, comedy

movies, cartoons on the screen or the wall, TinkerToys, Zots & ????, Frizbees, clown

noses, costumes, pinball machines, video games.

These are only a sampling of what I have seen people use and have tried to encourage



people to use.

Lindsay Collier, creativity consultant, has shared often the efforts of his Creativity Room

at Kodak. Dave Morrison and Frank Prince have talked about their work while inside

Frito-Lay. Others have shared about their work at IBM, GE, Motorola, and endless other

corporations.

C. W. Metcalf, Malcolm Kushner, Matt Weinstein, Joel Goodman, Bob Basso Esther

Blumenfeld and Lynne Alpern represent only a few of those who have written about their

experiences as humor consultants. Annually Joel Goodman and his Humor Project holds

a Humor Conference in Sarasota Springs, New York and Humor Development Workshops

during the summer.

In his recent book Faster Company, Pat Kelly, the founder of PSS, first nationwide

medical supply distribution company, shares about many of the fun things they have

done in his company to help increase the creativity of the employees.

My 20 years has introduced me to officers, directors, managers and supervisors at

poultry plants, sewing plants, clay processing companies, baby product producers, police

and fire stations, libraries, school rooms, government offices where humor and fun are



used to increase the creativity and lessen the stress of the daily pressures of today's

workplace.

The discovery I have made is that the companies that deliberately strive to make their

workplace and their work fun and add humor intentionally are the ones who are more

successful consistently over time.

How can you add humor into your workplace?

Cartoons, jokes, share humorous work anecdotes, dress up in costume at holiday times

or in celebration of a great success.

Pacesetter Steel based near Atlanta chose a baseball theme for a sales campaign. All the

employees were taken to an Atlanta Braves game for the kick-off. The lobby of the

headquarters was changed into a baseball field with a dugout that visitors sat in while

waiting for their appointments. As a prize, if they increased sales to a chosen point, was

a cruise for all employees. They did. They went.

Ice cream and cake parties. Parades, props, posters, gag gifts.

The AT&T Longlines plant in Norcross celebrated a great win by holding a parade



throughout the plant. The floats were made from leftover supplies by the employees on

their own time. The end of the parade was the operations manager, Lou Hatala and the

president of the CWA local not just shaking hands but hugging in congratulations of their

joint accomplishments.

Why do these things?

To increase morale. To lessen stress. To enrichen comradery and teamship. To make

work fun and something people look forward to each day.

How do you benefit?

Lower turnover, absenteeism, lateness, error rates. Increased production, accuracy, finer

quality. The overall results...higher profits and greater staying and hanging in power

when things get tough.

How do these increase creativeness?

When people are having fun they will bounce back for misses, failures, mistakes easier.

People work better in teams when they are having fun along with challenges. Conflicts

will be resolved and benefited from more. People maintain higher levels of enthusiasm



and motivation when they are having fun and find value in their work.

Am I saying that everyone in your next board meeting should be given cans of silly

string? Am I saying that everyone in your next planning meeting should be wearing

clown noses? Am I saying that your sales force out to hand out humorous gag gifts to

clients this quarter?

Yes I am!

Look at Southwest Airlines, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Thiele Kaolin, Duck Head Apparel

and many other examples. When they spontaneously and deliberately strive to add fun

and have fun at work they are more successful.

When was the last time you toured a poultry plant and most of the employees and

supervisors and the plant manager were dressed up in Halloween costumes? When was

the last time you went your bank branch and the president was dressed up as Dracula?

At Gold Kist Poultry they do. At First American Bank he does. These are a couple of local

examples from my home town of Athens, Georgia.

How about you? How about your department? How about your plant or organization?



How can you add humor and fun this week?

The results will be tremendous.

About the AuthorAlan Black S.P.R.E.A.D.s Cre8ng and Creative Thinking throughout entire organizations from their front doors to their executive floors. He works around the world through consulting, speeches, workshops, training programs, books, articles and his website to help as many people as possible tap into and develop their greatest gift -their creativity. Please visit Alan's website www.cre8ng.com.

Challenge your visual skills today by visiting the following website focused on visual Logic Puzzles: www.brainden.com/logic-puzzles.htm


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Stacey Spiller

The Tattoo

Several days ago I returned home from a trip that left me physically tired and

emotionally drained. When I walked into my home, I took immediate stock of what Kyle,

my recent high school graduate, had done or more accurately had not done in

preparation to leave for college in less than 36 hours. So I go to look for the little darling

son and chide him for his lack of readiness. And then I find him. Still asleep, although

the noon hour has already passed and I feel like a commercial for the armed services.

That I have already done more before 12:00 than he is going to do all day.

I take a deep breath. And then as nice as you please, (because I know I only have 36

hours before he leaves for college) I wake Kyle up and tell him this would be as good a

time as any to begin doing laundry, packing, and shopping for his college dorm items. As

he wakes up, he rolls over and I see it. I immediately begin interrogating Kyle like he is

a wanted felon. “What is that thing on you, who did this, how did that happen?” You see



I discovered that Kyle’s arm is now a billboard of his name, his birthplace, and his zodiac

sign as if he may need a reminder of this information once he gets to college. “Now isn’t

this a nice welcome home” I tell Kyle with all the sarcasm I could muster. I mean it’s not

like he didn’t already know exactly how I feel about tattoos.

Later in the afternoon, after I pulled myself off the ceiling, I knew the remedy for me to

find peace was to spend some quiet time in prayer. Gradually I realized that no matter

what I did or didn’t do, the permanent, very colorful and bright ink wasn’t going away.

No amount of anger, time spent considering a consequence, or just sheer frustration

could alter the situation. I began to think of the Serenity Prayer that asks God to grant

me the peace to accept the things I can not change. Somehow that prayer always

sounded like a good idea in the theoretical realm but now I realized that I needed to

apply it in the practical realm. The Serenity Prayer for me had been about memorization

but now I had revelation.

I would like to encourage you to consider some people, some situations or some things

in your life that require you to go to God for the peace of mind to accept them because

there isn’t anything you can do to change them. I can honestly tell you, based on my



own experience, that once you really get this concept deep down in your spirit there is a

real sense of freedom. Yes freedom from wasting time thinking about it and/or worrying

about it because you realize it already is what it’s going to be. You may have some

permanent ink circumstances in your life and what I want for you is the wisdom to know

the absolute one and only thing you can do is change how you handle it.

About the Author

Stacey Speller is a highly sought-after author, lifestyle coach, columnist, and international speaker. She knows that all things are possible and passionately believes that everyone should discover their own unique gifts, talents and purpose. A people person by nature, it is readily apparent that Stacey is passionate about her speaking and coaching because she has such a heart-felt desire to help people become their best self. For more information or to contact Stacey please visit her website at: www.speak2stacey.com.


http://www.speak2stacey.com/


Hal Coleman

The Times They Are'a Changin'!

For years I’ve spoken to folks about the importance of being able to change and adapt

your life, ideas and actions to fit the circumstances. The vast majority of us Homo

sapiens hate the word ‘change’. Man, once we get comfortable and cozy, we just don’t

want anyone coming along and messing with us. No sir. We like things just fine the way

they are thank you.

The problem is that nothing is permanent and comfort doesn’t last for long. If you don’t

eventually go find more wood, the fire will go out and you won’t have anything left to

burn and you will get cold! If you can’t find more wood, you might want to think about

switching over to gas or electric heat. Or maybe solar. But if you just sit there and whine

about how cold it is and wait for someone to come along and stoke the fire and re-fill the

kindling box……it most likely ain’t gonna happen and you are going to eventually freeze

to death.



Every day I look around me and see businesses collapsing and going under and people

getting laid off and heading into financial oblivion. And the one common statement I

hear more than anything else is, “If something doesn’t change soon, I am gonna go

broke!”

I just want to scream,“Wake up and listen to me. You can’t just sit around and wait for

change to happen. YOU have to change yourself. YOU have to create the change in your

life and in your work. YOU have to make things happen, or they won’t. Don’t you get it?”

This is the most difficult challenge people face in their lives……changing habits and

beliefs. Whether it’s in your business, your work, your marriage or a relationship with

someone else…..if you can’t change, you can’t survive. Life is about change. Always.

Bob Dylan said it best in a song, “The Times, They Are’ A Changin”. They always have

been and they always will be.



About the Author

Hal Coleman is a successful entrepreneur, businessman and entertainer. He graduated from The University of Georgia in 1974 with a degree in Entomology. He has owned and operated 8 different businesses over the past 35 years, including a pest control company, which he grew from a “one-man-with-a-spray can” operation into a million dollar business using his straight forward, step-by-step approach to network relationship marketing in his community. Hal can be contacted at: www.thenetworkingninja.com.


http://thenetworkingninja.com//


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