Uncategorized
How to Dance in the Rain
It was a busy morning at our clinic, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman
in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had another appointment at 9:00 am.
I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an
hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch
and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got
the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.
While taking care of this, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.
The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat
breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.
He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease.
As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.
He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized
him in almost five years.
I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’
He smiled as he patted my hand and said,
‘She doesn’t know me… but I still know who she is.’
I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, ‘That’s the best kind of love to have in your life.’
True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.
I hope you share this with someone you care about. I just did.
‘Life is not about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.’
Submitted by Tim Connor
Lessons from Bags of candy for Manufactured Housing
The following is based on a true story. The study this account describes was done back in the days of overcrowded classrooms. It describes elementary school age youth, and I was a kid myself when I heard this report. That means it was done “a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”. Here is the story followed by it’s life lesson for manufactured housing professionals.
A classroom of some forty children was given a bag full of candy. They couldn’t open the candy up until the teacher and the study leader gave them the okay. With great anticipation, back in the day when a bag full of candy was not so common and thus quite a treat, the children awaited their instructions.
‘Class, we are going to make each of you a deal. You have sitting on your desk a bag full of candy. You can have that candy today if you wish. Or, if you agree to skip the candy today, and wait until tomorrow at this same time, we will give you two bags full of candy instead of the one sitting in front of you.’ The students were asked if they understood the instructions and the offer. One bag today, right now, or a second bag full if they waited until tomorrow.
What did they do?
Two of the forty some children went for the one day delay to get the second bag of candy. Two out of forty, or roughly 5% of the class. The others went for less, happy to accept what was in front of them rather than get double the result. Now to a child, tomorrow may seem like a long time off. But how often do we adults do similarly?
The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.
~ Thomas Merton
A professional friend of mine reminded me this past weekend about a Ross Perot vintage bit of wisdom. It went something like this, ‘Too many corporations are thinking ten minutes to ten days ahead, instead of planning ten years ahead.’
Back in 1998 manufactured housing sales reached over 372,000 shipments nationally. In some parts of the country, manufactured housing sales reached 1/3 of all new housing starts. Things had never been better in decades for the Industry. Too many businesses took the ten minutes to ten days ahead approach. Too many failed to look ahead at the consequences of ‘burning a lender’ in one form or another, too many lenders (knowing what was going on) turned a blind eye to common sense, and too many customers were given less than stellar treatment. We could have owned the future of housing then. But instead of planning ten years ahead and doubling the manufactured housing business again, too many took the bag of candy sitting in front of them…
Are you ready to double your business? Get involved in the various calls to action by MHI and MHARR reported on the Industry Voices Guest Blog. Invest in yourself, your firm’s image, marketing and people daily. Do what is right today, and every day. Don’t give yourself an excuse, or wait for someone else to do it for you. Then you’ll end up having two bags of candy on your desk tomorrow. # #
L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach
Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management
(Outsourcing, Consulting, Coaching & Publishing)
tony@mhmsm.com – 847-730-3692, cell 832-689-1729
Job, Career or Calling?
Jonathan Haidt in The Happiness Hypothesis:
Most people approach their work in one of three ways: as a job, a career, or a calling.
- If you see your work as a job, you do it only for the money, you look at the clock frequently while dreaming about the weekend ahead, and you probably pursue hobbies, which satisfy your effectance needs more thoroughly than does your work.
- If you see your work as a career, you have larger goals of advancement, promotion, and prestige.
- If you see your work as a calling, however, you find your work intrinsically fulfilling you are not doing it to achieve something else. You see your work as contributing to the greater good or as playing a role in some larger enterprise the worth of which seems obvious to you. You have frequent experiences of flow during the work day, and you neither look forward to “quitting time” nor feel the desire to shout, “Thank God it’s Friday!” You would continue to work, perhaps even without pay, if you suddenly became very wealthy.
Thanks: Derek Sivers books page, Ma.tt, BobStovall.com
Rocky Balboa discusses life with his son
I believe from Rocky 5.
No Time
Two workers worked in adjacent toll booths in the state of New York. One lamented her fate, feeling herself ‘stuck in a dead end job.’ Every day, she complained and protested, with a radio playing music in the background as she collected tolls and handed out receipts. The second worker spent the day listening to audio recordings every day. 8 years went by. The second worker’s wise investment of time and listening yielded a college degree, a positive can do spirit and a great new career. The first worker kept lamenting her fate, trapped in the same toll booth day after day, ‘stuck in a dead end job…’
…the above is based on a true story.
It is amazing how busy we can become. It is also interesting how we can miss opportunities that are right there in front of us. We can get ensnared in our patterns of thought and activity. People many not realize the opportunities because we all have blind spots. For that reason, it is common to hear the statement “I have no time for ______” and we have all heard or used something to fill in that blank. “No Time” becomes the excuse.
At the very fine Wisconsin Housing Alliance (WHA) seminar held 11 days ago, Tim Connor shared the fact that the ‘average’ person spends 30,000 hours during the course of their adult life commuting, running errands and generally in driving mode. That seemed like a high number at first. But after a quick check, it certainly seems very plausible. Drive time alone represents ‘some time’ available for educational or inspirational listening. Imagine a person who used their drive time for listening to positive and useful information has the time needed for earning 8 college degrees!
So we all have plenty of time indeed! We simply have to look for it.
With the advent of MP3 players, IPods or the ability to burn CDs from internet downloads; a wise professional can effectively use that 30,000 hours of drive time. By listening to good information, you have the opportunity for building your skills or learning items you can share with your team. Let’s see, on the one hand…listen to the radio, or on the other hand, learn more to earn more.
Hmmm…kind of a no-brainer.
Are you already listening to financial or other news in your car, or while exercising or walking? Then you should also listen to Factory-Built Housing Industry News at Noon! Through a simple registration, you can now download feature articles each month from our online industry trade journal, PLUS you can download Factory Built Housing Industry News at Noon with Erin Patla. Or you can listen online from your home or office.
http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/news-at-noon
is our first of what will be Industry business news daily via download or online here at www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com/podcasts/.
One loyal reader of MHMSM.com has already emailed in to say, ‘This (the podcasts) are a great service. I can listen to industry news and a feature article every day as I’m getting ready for work.’ (lightly edited).
Starting as a young man in sales, and on through my management career in this industry, listening to audio recordings while driving was and is a great way to learn new ideas, to stay refreshed on concepts or to get and stay motivated.
One business owner some weeks back explained in an email how he creates rewards and ‘a quiz’ for this team, to encourage them to learn and improve from the information they find here at www.MHMSM.com. Imagine having so many top professionals in our Industry available for reading OR now listening via podcasts!
30,000 hours of available time. How are you and your team members using them? You and your business are either growing or shrinking, there is no in between. You and your team are either getting better or getting rusty. There is no better way to knock the rust off the mental wheels than by challenging yourself and your team with good, positive information!
Besides, as another reader turned listener here put it, podcaster Erin Patla’s “…voice is simply delightful.” When my wife says that Erin’s voice is great, that is an important insight indeed.
Now you can read Industry news, or listen to podcasts of top Factory Built Housing Industry News at Noon, or do both!
The Industry is slowly turning an important corner. You can see it in reports and feel it. When would you like to start selling more homes? When would you like to start filling vacancies? Or doing better marketing? When would you like to have a team member improve their management skills? Doesn’t using drive time wisely make good sense? Does now sound like a good time to start these career building habits?
Sign up now.
Start your first download or start listening online at your home or office today. Actions speak louder than words. Think about those two toll booth workers…and think about the pros who will be listening as well as reading Industry news and views you can use. Will it be you, or your competitor that does the listening, learning, knowing and growing? Who will be stuck in the same rut? Why not take advantage of the opportunity for building a brighter future! Listen and learn!
Signing up for our podcasts may be quick and easy, but it is the best action you can take to making some of those 30,000 hours of drive time or other ‘down time’ pay of for you and your team. Some people make excuses. Other people take the steps to make good things happen. Sign up and start listening. Enough said.##
The Strangest Secret revisited
A few times every year, I get back to basics by listening to the classical Earl Nightingale recording of The Strangest Secret, the audio recording that launched the self-help industry. Here it is in video form for those who may not have seen it – or who, like me, want to hear it again.