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Archive for lifestyle

Why are you settling for mediocre?

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Nothing mediocre...you deserve better.

As I write this there are 16 days left in 2011. How was your year? For me it’s been a very trying year, both business and personal challenges have reared their ugly heads this year and both have been faced and brought under control… thankfully.

All around me I’ve been listening to the media, other business owners, relatives and friends many spewing doom and gloom and casting enough blame for their circumstances on anyone and everyone.

It is at this time of year…every year…that I take time to reflect on the highs and lows of the year past and prepare for what’s ahead in the new year. In doing this exercise, I once again find that if the results sucked there is only ONE person to blame or chastise…ME. In your case…YOU.

Other people can create circumstances and throw challenges in our path Read More→

Network Marketing vs. ‘The Pyramid Scheme’

Friday, June 17th, 2011

I’ve recently joined the ranks of an outstanding direct sales/network marketing company, after some serious due diligence, I might add.

The skeptics among you are silently screaming..”what are you thinking, they’re all scams!” I must confess…I’ve been in the network marketing industry on and off for more than 15 years and while some companies have had integrity problems, the business model is more than 100 years old and in fact is something that you’ve also been participating in, week in and week out, whether you know it or not.

When I begin to talk to someone about the business the most common reply is “it’s one of those pyramid schemes…leave me out”. There is a very fundamental difference between network marketing and a pyramid scheme…a huge difference and if you don’t understand them you’re staying away from something that could make you a lot of money and give you great time freedom. Read More→

Everyone in the world has exactly the same numbers to work with, 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week and 8,736 hours in a year.

Interestingly that even though we all start out on equal footing, a few will use their time in ways that advance their careers, improve their personal relationships, improve their health and increase their overall level of success. Yet others will stagnate and complain, distance themselves from others, only communicate via Facebook® and texting, gain a few pounds eating cheese puffs in their pajamas in front of the television, get to the next level of some video game and ultimately fall farther behind the forward moving pack.

Why is that? Read More→

So there I was watching my two eight year old sons skim boarding at the beach…over and over…how hard can it be ?? The picture is Chris executing a 180 turn perfectly.

Skim boarding done right!

The process is easy, pick up the board, wait for a little water at the end of the wave’s journey ashore, throw the board, run after it, hop on, balance yourself and ride it for a short distance. I can do that. Bad thought, evil thought, why do I listen to these voices in my head?

So I announce to my stunned kids that I’m going to do it too. They hand over the board, stand WAY back and start looking for my life insurance and a cell phone to call the ambulance. I wait for my wave, the perfect wave, it rushed ashore, white foam, the perfect depth of water for skimming…I can do this. Read More→

Baby seal comes ashore…

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

So there I was enjoying a little down time with my family when suddenly the entire beach became enamored with this little creature swimming back and forth about 10 feet offshore…a baby seal.

It was obvious that the seal was lost and was unable to figure out how to get back out to sea and over to the other side of the breakwater, about a mile away, to where the majority of the other seals congregate. It got more and more tired and finally washed up on shore to rest.

The police and animal rescue arrived fairly quickly and kept everyone away while we all watched. For a while the seal simply lay there and we thought the worst…then finally it got slapped by a wave and got up and headed back into the sea.

The event was great for all of the kids watching to see wildlife so close up. It also stuck a chord with me as an entrepreneur. As the little guy we often get tired of fighting, lose our sense of direction, get disconnected from our support group and need to take a time out before heading out again…it’s ok and it’s normal.

Epilogue: Animal rescue did finally take the little creature into custody when about 15 minutes after this short video was taken, it breached itself back on shore obviously exhausted. Enjoy the little guy.

Bob can be reached at bob@holdsworth.com

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Bob Holdsworth - Time is Money

Time is money

I don’t know about you, but my ‘IN’  box never seems to get close to empty.  Voice mail, email, snail mail, periodicals, industry journals, client projects, travel schedules, kids on vacation, family time, the operational demands of running three different companies and of course writing, writing and more writing.

People routinely ask me how I manage to get it all done.  I work only about 45 hours a week, I’m typically able to take about 6-8 weeks of vacation every year, I’m able attend the majority of my kid’s school events and still manage to build the profitability of each business on pace, each year.

I’m not the smartest guy in the world, I don’t have 26 hours in a day, but I do have very well developed delegation skills and I’m developing a greater ability to sort, prioritize and say no to distracting offers.  I also make it a point to surround myself with people who can think through problems, follow through on projects, accept responsibility for their efforts and then I LEAVE THEM ALONE.   The word micro-management is not in my vocabulary.

Training, mentoring, coaching, developing and responsibility are and I’m willing to take the time with a person to do the first four so that in very short order they can take on the fifth.

The keys to delegation are as follows: Read More→