Be You

What is man's first duty? The answer is brief: to be himself

Henrik Ibsen 1867

Gert Boyle.....amazing 82 year old

Gert Boyle's family fled Nazi Germany when she was 13--reason enough for her to hope her path as an adult would be smooth. For a time it was: She raised her three children while her husband, Neal, ran Columbia Sportswear in Portland, Oregon. But when Neal died in 1970 at age 47, Gert had to take over. She knew nothing about business, and the records were in shambles. A calm life was not in the cards.

Gert took Neal's Columbia, whose core customers were serious outdoors people, and made it a company for anyone who fancies a fleece vest: students, suburbanites, babies. The message has been carried since 1984 by Columbia's "tough mother" advertising campaign, whose highlights have included Gert forcing her son Tim--now the company's CEO--through a car wash to test a parka. Her little family business is now a $1.2 billion public company.

(From Inc.com The Daily Resource for Entrepreneurs)

Quotes from Boyle

“You never get yesterday back. So do better tomorrow and trust your instincts.”

“Self-examination is better than criticism, and the success of a business sometimes lies in the faults of the person who is running it.”

“You have to realize that in some areas experience is a better teacher than instinct.”


Whats stopping you?

Spontaneity.....

So, the other day, went to a business lunch with friends, Andy and Louise - at a delightful pub that was meant to be halfway between our two homes. Then I found halfway was just a manner of speaking as it was just at their doorstep! Almost...

No really, it was great. A man of the moment, Andy has his camera on the back of his car and afterwards we went and took some pictures on the beach...as you do when you go to have lunch and a meeting at a 'halfway' pub.

But here's to life, friends, beaches, mixing business with pleasure, and spontaneity.

Do something crazy today.

Wall Flower no more...

Found this the other day. It's based on the book The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing "How to trigger exponential sales through runaway word of mouth"
by George Silverman. See what you think.

How to be visible without really trying

1. Ask a question at a conference.
2. Make a point in a meeting.
3. Write letters to your industry magazine.
4. Introduce yourself to lots of people at an industry show or ball.
5. Buy people a drink at the bar at a lecture.
6. Discuss a book with an industry leader.
7. Wear bright ties.
8. Make people laugh.
9. Have an opinion on everything. (But keep an open mind)
10. Hand out an unusual business card.
11. Recast your CV to be a little different.
12. Take up an unusual hobby. (But not too unusual)
13. Don’t overlook using the email and Internet to communicate your
cause.

Re- Connect and Live!

Valorie Burton, Life Coach and author of several books including, Reconnect With What Matters Most conducted a research, interviewing 300 people to discover the quality of their relationships and here are the results


54% said they get together with friends for fun and conversation less than once a month.

55% have not had a friend over to their home in more than two months.

80% of people married or in a romantic relationship said they are not satisfied with the consistency and quality of time spent with their spouse or significant other.

70% of parents surveyed said they do not spend enough time with their children.

58% said they have not had a seven-day vacation in more than a year.

Perhaps we should see these not as just another set of statistics but turn them into action plans to improve the quality of our relationships. Relationships do matter