Happy Birthday John Denver

Today is John Denver's birthday. If John had not been killed in the plane crash at Monterey Bay he would have been seventy-four years old today.

I knew that John would eventually be gone, but he left a powerful legacy with his music. With that idea in mind, I wrote a song I called "The Bard" --my tribute to the man, John Denver.

The Bard
Music & Lyrics Michael W. Mickey Maguire

The was an old man was a teller of stories
of visions of lands far away
His stories were songs from a life-time of living
things he had seen in his day

This man he had wisdom from years he'd been living
his insights outnumbered his days
His songs you could say they were much more than stories
they helped us to see on our way

(chorus)

The Bard, the Dreamer, the singer of songs
about treasures far better than gold
free for the taking, for all, so we are told
The Bard, the Dreamer, the lover of children
and all who are willing to give
The Bard sang songs about life and how we should live

The children they sat at the feet of the minstrel
his songs filled them all with delight
The Bard he adored them he loved little children
they were precious indeed in his sight

He would sing them his songs about magical kingdoms
where good would prevail in the end
He would sing about castles knights in bright armor
defenders of truth and of men

(chorus)

Then, one night it ended the bard he was gone
like a night mist the wind blows away
But his message lives on in the songs that he gave us
and still helps us see on our way

(chorus)

----------- Here is a link to the song on a YouTube video

Business Has its Ups and Downs

Over the last couple of decades the working world has changed. There are many people hanging on to the old paradigm for dear life; however, the days of going off to the factory or the day-job are disappearing fast.

Many people say our best days are behind us.

Welcome to the GIG ECONOMY

What IS the "gig economy" you ask? It is a world where people try to figure out "what it is they can do" and "how to monetize it" in order to pay their bills. We have reverted to life before the industrial revolution. Most people just don't know it yet.

Big industries have all taken their jobs to the lowest bidder. American labor no longer means factory jobs. At one time, those jobs were part of what we called "The American Dream" and countless waves of immigration brought skilled people here from around the world. Now, those industrial jobs have been supplanted by low-wage warehouse jobs.* 

Many people believe that the days of wine and roses are gone.

What's a body to do?

First, you have to determine what it is that you CAN do. What talents do you have? What are you capable of doing? What do you have in the way of tools that will enable you to offer some sort of products or services? HOW can you market them?

Before you set out to find fame and fortune, you have to determine all of those things I have already asked. Then, you have to figure out what sets you apart from the rest of the people trying to do the same thing. You either have to be so good that people want you specifically, or, you have figured out some secret formula that enables you to take the market by storm. Neither of those is likely to be the case, initially.

How do you survive?

Hard work is the key to making it in the gig economy. You have to hustle. You have to be assertive. You have to be confident!

Picture Mr Miyagi (the Karate Kid)... telling Daniel-san that karate is over here (right of the road) or over here (left of the road), but, not down the middle of the road-- or you get squished like a "grape" and it's over.

It's Hard Work

Picture a barren wasteland. You could sit around and pray for rain. You might wander around looking for that desert oasis. You might try irrigation. A water-pipe could turn that arid landscape into a lush green valley. Once a pipeline is made, keeping it full is the key to success. The flow of water cannot be intermittent if you want paradise valley.

The gig economy is the same way.

Some people will succeed. Many will not. What lies in store for the rest of humanity? I have a feeling that people will do what many in the past have done, they will wait for a savior-- but he's too busy making a living.

Make an assessment of your talent and skill-set. 2018 is just around the corner. You can make the new year great by crafting a solid action plan. Ponder those things as the new year approaches.

Are you ready? Set? Go.

(*in terms of relative buying power of the dollar)

Snow, Snow, Snow

I woke up this morning to a fresh blanket of snow. The ground is white.

My thoughts wander to the commute to work and what the traffic will be like. Safety is always foremost in my mind when winter storms hit. I'd love to have the sort of day-gig that allows me to stay at home on such occasions. Too bad that is not the case.

This reminds me of a similar situation I had years ago. During that storm, I wrote this poem and posted it on my blog. I am going to post it here, now.

Snow

by Mickey Maguire

Snow is softly falling
past my window to the ground
Each flake a thing of beauty
that lands without a sound

The meadow is now covered
in a blanket colored white
It glistens like a crystal dish
sparkling in the night

When the storm, at last, is gone
and the moon is shining bright
Trees encased in icy coats
make for an awesome sight

I do not have the time to sit
and savor winter's beauty
I am reminded by the clock
that I must do my duty

For when the day commences
and I must venture out
the snow and ice will hinder me
along my chosen route

I've little time and won't enjoy
the beauty of the snow
In truth it's not so beautiful
when off to work I go

Rules for Business Success

The business world is one of competition. Opportunity is given to the best and the brightest. In this world, nobody gets a trophy for just showing up. Any position of lasting value is worth earning. If someone just hands it to you, then you don't want it.

Andrew Carnegie once said this: "Anything in this world worth having is worth
working for." That includes career opportunities.

If you want to succeed in business, think and act on these things:

Stop looking to the stock market and start making business generate income in
excess of expenses.

Stop looking to get-rich-quick marketing schemes and start learning about how
businesses of the past became profitable.

Stop pulling yourself in so many directions and focus on what is before you, but,
don't lose sight of what will be standing there tomorrow, a month from now, a
year from now, or even a decade.

If you make something, make it profitable. If you can't, make something else.

If you want to go into business, arm yourself with information and make sure you know what to expect.

Try to control the level of stress in your life.

Learn to turn off your cell phone.

Learn to say no when people ask for your time... know your limitations.

If you are in a bad job situation, look for something healthier today.

Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Be honest. Choose the career that is best suited to your strengths and try to strengthen your weaknesses.

Spend less time with passive entertainment and read a lot more. If you already
read a lot, look at what you read. Can you find things that will help you build a
better future?

Never, never, never give up! (borrowed from Winston Churchill)

Always look for the bright side of every situation.

See every challenge as an opportunity to succeed and grow.

If you want to succeed in life, and you prepare to meet whatever challenges that come along, you will overcome every adversity. If you doubt, then find a way to convince yourself that you can do it, or you will not succeed. You have to believe and visualize your eventual success or you will fail. Your only limitations are self-imposed.

Everyone has native abilities― you are born with them. When you discover them you have found the path you were meant to follow. People used to refer to these as “God given talents.”

I have referred to such talents, in the past, as raw talents; meaning, they need to be refined. For example, I became a “world-class fly tyer” when I was still in my mid-twenties. By the time I was thirty-one years old my work was on exhibit in Livingston Manor at the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum. I started tying flies when I was about ten or twelve years old. I took a raw talent and, through hard work and determination, I cultivated the skills I needed to become one of the best fly tyers in the business. It worked for me and it can work for you, too.

How you determine what it is that you were destined to do varies with people. I
can tell you from personal experience that passion has a lot to do with whether or not you will succeed. You have to WANT success. You have to work for it.

The KEY to success is this: You must first BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

ALL of YOUR LIMITATIONS are SELF-IMPOSED. Remove those and SUCCEED.

What Do You Want?

Goals are the very basis of any success. ~Earl Nightingale

The single most important advice I can give for living a good life is for you to answer this simple question: What do you want?

If you want to accomplish anything in this world, you have to first make it a goal. My own advice on this is to make a list of the things you would like to do in the course of your life. WRITE THEM ON PAPER.

By writing your goals on a list you are committing them to a tangible form via pen and paper. Ink on the page is the first step in turning a thought into a reality. Once you have enumerated your goals you can start to focus on them one-by-one.

You can start with the big picture. Make a list of life-long goals. Then, make a list of short-term goals, interim goals between where you are right now and where your ultimate goals will take you.

Think of your life-long goals as you final destination. Your short-term, interim goals, are the stepping stones that help you navigate on solid ground as you plod your way to the finish line.

Without goals, we accomplish nothing

Goals enable us to focus. We see results as we complete tasks on the way to our ultimate goal. The interim goals are important in order to see progress. Without those, it is easy to get discouraged. The longer it takes to achieve those interim goals, the easier it is to give up on them, so, make those goals attainable.

Visualization is the Key

Clearly, if you can imagine yourself enjoying the fruits of your labor, if you can see yourself succeeding in accomplishing your goals, then, you are already on the road to success.

If you are unsure about how to envision your future, my book Get Happy, Write Away will walk you through the process. My follow-up book, Ninja Mind Tricks, will help you create a positive plan of action in order to turn those dreams into realities.

At this point you should think about what you want to accomplish.
Commit those goals to paper with pen and ink.
Create a list of interim goals on the path to your final destination.
Create your plan of action.

The first step is always the hardest

You might have to do some research on what is required in order to achieve certain goals. Your plan of action will depend on what it is that you really want.

Remember this: You are the captain of your own destiny. It is all up to you. Where you go in life and how you get there is a matter of whether you create goals, focus on them, and work to complete them. The Universe will not simply drop them into your lap. Sorry, it doesn't work that way.

Your path lies before you.

A Time for Change

I have had Tricorn Publications, a domain on the internet, for many years. The hosting company, Netfirms, just jacked up the price by over 50 percent, so, I am ending the relationship with Netfirms. The site is scheduled to go dark as of January 9, 2018 (I've made up my mind).

I had a blog for my book, Get Happy, Write Away, that I started in 2009 that gathered 135,000 readers. It was hacked on Netfirms servers through no fault of my own and a backdoor was placed on every file. Netfirms' solution to the issue was to sell me their security services. That was the first thing to taint our business relationship.

My reaction was to pull the entire WordPress blog from the site and upload a hard-coded, HTML based site like the one I originally created for Tricorn Publications in 2001 when I sold books directly to the public.

Netfirms "salesman" was shocked when I rejected their offer and did what I did to my website, but, I made it virtually hack-proof in the process. Take that!

Since the time of the hack I have had this blog on "Blogger" (thank you Google) and everything is running smoothly. I have other blogs, too.

What's In Store...

I will gradually move all of the content from Ukulele Player Magazine to a dedicated blog on Blogger.

I will move all of the old DSLR-MAG site to a dedicated photography blog on Blogger.

I have switched my e-mail address to a newly created one on my Earthlink account and I have also converted the old "Magfly" site to an author page to promote my books and connect people with all of the various blogs.

You will be able to download the Ukulele Player Magazine issues via the blog and will eventually find new content there.

I believe that positive-thinking and positive action is always the best course to take. All of these changes will, in the end, be better for my readers, better for me, and will save money.

Positively Mickey

Happy Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving Day, I want to celebrate the beauty of this planet. I am grateful that I have always been able to photograph wildlife, waterfalls, and the world around me.

My parents have never taken the time to enjoy the beauty of nature, even though they appreciate landscape photography. I made this little video to share with them later today.

What an Exorbitant Price!

I was looking up weekend events in the Columbus, Ohio area and came across Franklin Park Conservatory. These days, general admission is $14 per adult.

Franklin Park Conservatory is an interesting place. The main facility is segmented in “biomes” that include the following: Himalayan Mountain, Rain-forest, Desert, and a Pacific Island Water Garden. In addition, there are orchids, bonsai, a palm room, and lots of flowering plants of all types.

I can’t help but feel that the people who could benefit the most from visiting the conservatory, inner city poor kids, will most likely never see the beautiful exhibits because they cannot afford the price of admission. It saddens me because when my son was a little guy, the place was FREE. We went there many times and I took pictures.

As a result of visiting the Columbus Metro Parks, Franklin Park Conservatory, and places like Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills, Ohio, my son has a love of the outdoors. He is conservation-minded and loves various flora and fauna to this day.

The Columbus Zoo is a lot more expensive than it was when my son was a toddler, too. Now, THAT, I completely understand. The cost of care for the animals, upkeep of the grounds, and INSURANCE liability is incredibly high. My wife and I can spend a day at the Columbus Zoo for about what it would cost us to visit Franklin Park Conservatory and the zoo has a lot more to see and do. If given the choice, the zoo wins, hands down.

What bothers me most about the costs of family entertainment these days is that even educational places, like the conservatory and the zoo are not affordable for the people who would benefit from them the most. If poor families cannot afford to visit those sorts of attractions it is unlikely that their kids will ever develop an appreciation for trees, wildlife, and endangered species in particular. Not to mention they will likely never think about career opportunities in science or the wildlife and conservation industries.

This reminds me of the Sierra Club’s efforts to ban hikers in certain wildlife areas and national parks because lug-soled boots were “damaging” hiking trails within the parks. Take away the ability for people to enjoy those parks and nature preserves and they will never grow to understand the importance of conservation and preservation of wildlife. They will not think about the effects of clear-cutting forests along natal streams of salmonids in the Pacific Northwest, or the loss of vulnerable species like the spotted owl. They will not care about the harvest of elephants for their ivory tusks and rhinos for their horns.

Access to conservatories and wildlife areas should be open and affordable for the sake of future generations.


Here is the main building at Franklin Park Conservatory, if you’ve never seen it. If you want to visit, prepare to spend about $30 for two adults and about $7 per child.

Franklin Park Conservatory Main Building

Everybody Needs R&R at Times

Everybody needs rest and relaxation from time to time.

Life can be overwhelming. Between work schedules, events, city traffic, bills, bills, and more bills, everybody needs time to get away from it all and just forget about the stress of modern-day living.

Over the years I’ve discovered places that help me relax and shed the cares of the day. Wherever I have lived, I have somehow managed to find places to go and unwind. Some of those places were far from home, but most of the time they were within an hour from home and I could go there for a few hours and recharge my batteries, so to speak.

I have always been passionate about photography. When I go to these sanctuary areas, I take pictures. The resulting images help me stay focused on what is important to me, like the beauty of nature, my love of the outdoors, capturing those images to share with others, and counting my blessings.

My home is the woodlands of this beautiful planet. I love the mountains. I love prairies and grasslands. I love the marshes and estuaries. I love the beaches, smooth and sandy or rocky and rugged. It’s the sound of the waves. Waterfalls, I am totally hooked of waterfalls. If I could I’d bathe strip-stark naked under waterfalls. I love everything about them. I’ll be content to photograph them, or shoot video of them ’til the end of my days.

Nature is my sanctuary. The forests are my “safe place.” As long as I have these places of scenic beauty, I really don’t need much else; though, I must say that from the very beginning of my life with Mary Rose (my wife), I shared my love of the outdoors with her and she has made my life richer. On the day I proposed and she accepted, I took her here…

We took time, yesterday, to return to Old Man’s Cave and take a few pictures. We’ve been there many times and continue to take pictures because every day is unique with photography. The lighting is always different. The seasons bring subtle changes. No two images are exactly alike for a multitude of reasons.

If you have never been to Old Man’s Cave and you live in Ohio, put it on your list of MUST SEE locations. It is beautiful. Take a camera with you.

One more thing, My wife and I were the only people there carrying genuine cameras. Everyone takes pictures with cell phones these days. They are a poor substitute for a good DSLR.

Thoughts…

Are we losing history because we no longer take pictures with film cameras? Are your precious memories backed up in case of hard drive failure or ransom-ware attacks? In thirty years, will you have a record of the events in your life or will you lose those memories because you trusted in technology?


Make back-ups of your pictures.

Don't Let It Rattle You - Unsocial Media

I had an unusual event occur yesterday evening. A long-time “Facebook friend” blew up in a fit of profanity and unfriended me as he flailed away with a string of insults and personal attacks. We had never met in person. We did have a lot in common. It’s a shame because we even know some of the same people in “real life” –I have witnessed this with other people, but it has never happened to me until now.

In a way, I am saddened by it because all I did was ask a simple question (if he had read one book that I have in my collection by a particular author– and he went crazy all of a sudden).

This former friend has done this before with other people. He has definite anger management issues. The lesson to be learned from this is that we all have genuine friendships and there are so-called friendships with people online. Real friendships can come as the result of online “friendships” –but that is somewhat rare.

Don’t let a misunderstanding and subsequent thrashing by a so-called “friend” in social media hurt you emotionally. It is way too easy to have a simple misunderstanding with people on the other side of the world. In this case, the person in question often appears as a volatile, reactive individual. He has spewed foul language over politics and other topics on more than one occasion. Now, I guess I won’t be seeing his fits and bursts of outrage and I won’t miss them.

If you get caught in a similar situation, don’t let it rattle you. The cyber-world is filled with all kinds of people and flame wars occur virtually every day. That is why REAL friendships should be cherished all the more.

Friends come and go, people move on, only to become a distant memory. In the end, our “friends” online have little genuine influence in our lives. They are simply entertainment. They are merely players, performers in the theater of the online world.

When I see this sort of incident erupt in a forum or in social media I remember the immortal words of the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare, “What fools these mortals be.” Alas, parting is such sweet sorrow.

Yes, these things happen.

Nothing to see here.

Move along.

BTW... If you want to learn how to deal with Unsocial Media check out Brandy Booth's book on the subject.

Here is a link...

https://www.amazon.com/Unsocial-Media-Management-Business-How/dp/1548450243/

Are We Rewarding Mediocrity?

Are we rewarding mediocrity? It sure seems like it.

We now live in an age where excellence is no longer seen as the gold standard. Schools in some districts have done away with traditional grade cards because they give children negative feelings. Criticism is frowned upon because students feel bad about themselves. Cursive writing is gone because most kids lack the patience to master the craft. We are a nation of dabblers.

In some places, little league teams give out trophies to everyone, regardless of whether or not there is a real reason. People have joked about giving trophies to kids who just show up. Really?

In the labor force, people do just enough work to keep their job. Nobody, it seems, is passionate about doing a great job at anything and “close enough” is one of the most common phrases used today.

Homes are built with OSB (oriented strand board– a fancy way to say wafer-board). They are thrown together in no time and a few years down the road they are in need of repair.

Organizations like ISO emerged in the world of manufacturing and business, but, nobody plays by the rules and it seems that no one takes them seriously. There are programs like “5S” and “Six-Sigma” (Lean Engineering), but, the manufacturing world is still plagued with poor quality.

Young people want to jump from school into the job market and immediately land in the corner office without actual experience. Others leave college and start their own business without any management experience, no job history aside from flipping burgers, and no people management skills. But, they can learn a new cell-phone app lickitty split.

Digital music is often very poorly mixed. Audio tracks in digitally filmed movies are so bad that music drowns out dialog and volume fluctuates from deafening music and sound effects to church mouse conversations. I have to fiddle with a remote constantly just to hear the actors. Documentaries are the worst.

Customer service? I’ve heard of that once.

I am tired of performance coaching and political correctness, warm fuzzies and all that touchy feelie garbage! Managers should be great role models– show up for work on time. They should be efficient and highly effective. They should have their priorities straight. They should find the best and brightest recruits and bring them on-board. Then, pay them enough to keep them.

Your business should be a talent pool. Develop the best workforce you can. They make your business run smoothly. BUILD A TEAM OF WINNERS– not a group of whiners and losers. By the time someone is in their early twenties, if they don’t have a good work ethic, chances are they never will. Pitch ’em and shoot for the first-round draft choice. You want to fill your team with rising stars.

In my school of thinking, nobody gets a trophy without earning it. STRIVE TO BE NUMBER ONE. 

Remember this: In tennis, the runner-up is the loser.

REACH FOR THE STARS!

Stop, Look, and Listen

Occasionally I remind myself to stop, look, and listen– there is a world of wonder around us and if we continue to rush through life, we will often miss it.

It is easy to get caught up in the routine of day-to-day life. For example: My alarm tolls at 2:00 AM (yes, I am serious). I get up, grab my laptop, and a tablet of some kind, a Palm device, a smart phone, and start working in my den. I pump myself full of coffee. At about 5:00 AM, I pack my lunch, shower, shave, and by about 6:00 AM I’m heading to the car. By 7:00 AM I am at the office. I have to modify my schedule about three days a week in order to be in the office by 5:00 AM.

With all the prep and a thirty-minute drive to the office, I have to keep track of time really well or I’ll be late and I also have to keep a weather-eye when winter storms are predicted. I like being punctual.

Why do I get up so early? Well, I keep a “day job” for health insurance and other benefits. I don’t need it. I can get plenty of work without it, but, medical insurance is a must these days. I am up at 2:00 AM most days in order to write for several of my own blogs, do video editing or organize photographs from a shoot. I also do a lot of artwork on computer these days. In addition, my best writing (books) comes in the wee hours when all the world is asleep.

Slow Down…


I have always pursued my passions. Landscape photography is one of those. Even then, it pays to stop, look, and listen. The picture below is a Jewel blossom. It is one of the tiniest of flowers. This particular one was photographed with a 35mm film camera and a close-up filter on a 35-70 zoom lens. This specimen was only one-eighth of an inch long.

Had I been rushing down the trail to a waterfall I was planning to shoot, I would have missed this little gem. As it is, many people have never seen a jewel flower because they are so tiny anyway. Now, I look for them and I’ve been blessed to find them in several parks I frequent when in the past, I missed them completely.

I wonder how may other things I’ve missed on the trail? Have I trampled any such wonder underfoot?

Take time to stop, look, and listen. And while you are at it, take time to relax and enjoy the company of family and friends. Step off the beaten path and forget about the noisy, hectic world for a while. If you can, share the beauty of the world with others.

The rat race will be there when you return to it… trust me.

Changing Your Life

Whatever you’re looking for must first be found within you, whether it be peace, happiness, riches, or great accomplishments. ~Earl Nightingale

I see people every day who wander aimlessly through life. They appear to have no goals, no dreams, they aspire to NOTHING. I will posit that what people appear to be outwardly is a physical manifestation of what they are inwardly. In simple terms: YOU are what you THINK.

When people are wandering aimlessly, this is a definite sign that they have been programmed to believe that dreams are the province of children. They are afraid of failure and recall, vividly, every attempt they’ve ever made that went wrong. Rather than discovering that mistakes are part of the learning process and an opportunity to grow, they feel that life has kicked them in the teeth and they feel humiliated.

When Earl Nightingale said that whatever you are looking for must first be found within you, he meant that you have to first believe in your ability to accomplish what you set out to do. Goals are funny things. If you can’t convince yourself that you can do it– whatever IT happens to be– then, why bother. So the people that I’ve mentioned previously start wandering aimlessly. They become reactive, not pro-active. They are sheep and circumstance simply prods them in the rump as they meander from one dull moment in their life to the next.

Again, you are what you think. It’s time to change that.

You have to start with goals.

Take a critical look at your life, what you do, where you live. What would you really like if given the chance to get it? Make a list of the things you would like to change. Think about the job, hobbies, even the kind of people with whom you associate. What would you like to do differently?

Putting together a list of changes like this is a start to creating goals. Once the list is made, you are ready to start building the life you really want. Some things might be easy to change. Others will take a little time or study.

Remember this point: If you can see yourself accomplishing any of these goals, you can make them happen. It all starts with the belief that you can do it. On that note, I will leave you with one of the greatest quotes of all time:

Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way, you are right. ~Henry Ford

Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt

Fear, uncertainty and doubt. I call them the FUD Factor.

Fear of failure causes more procrastination than any other single influence. That is why taking the first step in some new venture is the hardest thing for someone to do. It is the uncertainty– what is the outcome. Will this work? Will I fall flat on my rump? Will I look like a total loser?

Doubt– that’s your imagination running wild. Well, take control of your imagination and stop picturing defeat. Start picturing wild success.

My father used to say “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” He never ventured. My father was a hard worker, but he was a very slow thinker. Funny, he had a quick wit. He never talked about it, but I have a feeling that he was so insecure that he had to mill things over in his head and rethink every variable before he actually made a decision. Time slipped through his fingers.

My mother was the opposite. Mom was sharp as a tack. In many ways, she still is. She was also quick witted and she was smart. She could solve problems better than the best engineers I’ve known. She was also a great communicator. In addition to her deductive reasoning, she had great reading comprehension. But, she was cynical about most things. For her, the safe route was always the best choice in every situation. Which reminded me of my father saying “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

And so it was that I grew up in a home where change came slowly if it came at all. No, we weren’t hobbits, but I could really relate to them.

I guess I was the Bilbo Baggins of my family. I was forever going on one of my adventures. It was that confounded Wizard’s fault.

In reality, I discovered things about risk and the potential reward for stepping outside the house and following my feet. There were always things to discover. There were places to see, things to do, and people to meet. Today, I have fond memories of friends I’ve met along the way. I’ve enjoyed lots of great music, art, and artistry. I’ve seen some of the most beautiful terrain ever put on a map. I’ve followed the sunset and soared through the Milky Way at midnight.


It’s all because I followed my passions.

Lower Falls, Old Man's Cave - Hocking State Forest, Ohio - Mickey Maguire Photo

If You Don't Know Where You're Going... Any Road Will Take You There

Seasons come, seasons go. We have been enjoying a prolonged autumn this year. It is late October and it is just now getting colder at night. Right now, it is forty-three degrees. We have had one night of very light frost. I confess, it does not disappoint me in the least.

Fear mongers cry about climate change– which is the latest term used to describe global warming. Doom-sayers speak of ice caps melting and seas rising to swallow-up Florida and Manhattan. I’d like to remind people that in the time of Europe’s greatest development, when most of the great cathedrals were built, the greatest advancements in architecture, art, music, and science, the earth was much warmer than it is now.

In the EARLY COLONIAL PERIOD, Europe experienced a “mini ice age” and the river Thames was frozen. People were ice skating in the shadow of the Tower of London and the London bridge. That was after two centuries of unprecedented warming.

But, I remind you, seasons come and seasons go.

Life is just like the weather and global climate changes. Humanity has always grown. Although it seems we occasionally take one step forward and two steps back– we find our direction and start moving again.

The important thing in life is to create a goal and work toward achieving it. We are at our best when we are working on our goals. Finding your path cannot happen if you have not chosen a destination. So, where do you want to be tomorrow, a week from now, a month, or a year? How about twenty years from today?

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.

Do You Love Your Job?

If you don’t love your job, it’s not the right job for you.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “That’s easier said than done.”

I have met very few people in my career that truly loved what they were doing for a living. Those that did pursued their dreams. Those that were simply working for a living, and that was the vast majority, made career choices for “practical” or monetary reasons with no regard to long-term satisfaction.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I worked in the fly fishing business for many years. No, I did not make millions of dollars, but, I had the joy of waking up every morning to gaze at the best wild trout fishery east of the Rocky Mountains. I had the pleasure of fishing some of the most beautiful lakes, rivers, and streams in North America. I was surrounded by scenic beauty and wildlife while most of my clientele were pent-up in their concrete towers. Their view was the hustle and bustle of city streets far below– the honking of horns, the grumbling and griping of over-stressed employees, political discussions at the water cooler, and meetings, endless meetings.

Give me a golden sunrise and the sipping of salmonids in the tail of a pool as they pick an occasional stonefly off the surface– one that emerged the night before. Give me the evening spinner-fall when trout sip spent mayflies as they drift, prone, downstream. They feast into the darkness.

Afterward, I have spent many a night playing guitar and singing songs with friends and associates. We talked fishing off and on. We enjoyed fine dining. We played music. We did it all again the next day. Yeah, believe me, it was a tough way to make a living.

My point is this: You really work for yourself. You can choose what it is that you WANT to do. All you have to do is figure out what that is.

I will leave you with this one question: If you could take money out of the picture and you could do whatever it is you wanted to do, what would it be?

Now, all you have to do is figure out how to monetize it.

Kill the Marketing Geek-Speak, Go Sell Something

My wife and I have had countless “marketing” discussions over her decade in marketing and copywriting. The topic emerged again in an online forum. This time, the tables are turned and Mary Rose and I seem to now agree.
I have always been on the side of not using geek-speak when it comes to information technology (IT) or information marketing (IM). Before I go any further, let me just define IM.

Information marketing is providing written materials, and sometimes video, for a fee. Small businesses in niche markets with few staff members may buy whitepapers from a copywriter that can be “branded” as their own. Major corporations will buy research papers that support their products and value-added services. Company blogs are often written by outside parties or content mills rather than have an internal team of people writing their own content. Independent contractors and freelancers will sell “content” for corporate blogs to increase website traffic. The idea is to build a loyal customer base by providing information as a service to the consumer.

All of those wannabee marketing people who are trying to sell themselves as copy or content writers need to realize that marketing speak, like “funnels” and “squeeze pages”, “landing pages” and “lead pages” really don’t mean anything to a business owner. If corporations already have a marketing department, then you are typically preaching to the choir.

The BIG question really can be summed up in this one sentence: What’s in it for me?

What they are asking you is this: Will this get me more business?

If the answer is that there are no guarantees, you are not thinking straight. How about this instead: It has worked for me in the past.

People want to know if they will get a return on their investment. If you lack the experience to know whether or not it will work, you’d better start practicing your song and dance routine. You’re gonna need it. If it doesn’t work and you’ve been paid a lot of money, be prepared to shuffle off to Buffalo.

There is another phenomenon that goes hand-in-hand with the so-called copywriting expert these days. Copywriters that ARE making a lot of money really don’t need to sell information products because they are constantly working on projects for paying customers. But those who are struggling are looking at developing information products to save themselves from bankruptcy.
Seriously, if you cannot market yourself, what makes you think that you can market someone else’s business? It’s a fair question when you think about it.

My friendly advice to copywriters at large– become so good they can’t ignore you. Learn to SELL. Get some experience in your own town before striking out in cyberspace. Build relationships rather than constantly looking for the get-rich-quick scenario. You’re not Dan Kennedy. The Miracle Ear was a 7.5 million dollar deal for good old Dan, but, he had the goods. He had the experience. And those days are gone.

Like everything, the rules change. Tides rise and fall. You have to adapt.
Forget the marketing geek-speak and write in simple direct terms. WASTE NO WORDS! Make every word carry weight or omit it. Plain and simple– it ain’t the Great American Novel. It’s copywriting.

Now, go sell something.

A Health Body, A Healthy Mind

There is a direct link between thinking you feel great and physically feeling great.

Lots of fitness gurus talk about aerobics or weight training, running, cycling, swimming, or other exercise programs; but, few talk about how you feel emotionally. My contention is that in order to feel good physically, you have to feel good emotionally. For some, it is a spiritual thing. For others, it is psychological.

Whether you look for spiritual understanding for inner peace, or some sort of meditation or philosophy like Buddhism, your body responds to what your mind tells it. When you feel bad on the inside, you cannot possibly maintain a healthy body on the outside.

In order to have long-lasting fitness, you have to cultivate a positive, healthy mindset while you start tuning up your body. It’s the same for losing weight. You must begin with a positive mental attitude and an attainable goal.

If you want to lose one-hundred pounds, for example, you have to clearly state that as your goal– then, break that goal into attainable interim goals of twenty pounds at a time. Each twenty pounds you drop is one more positive step toward the ultimate goal of losing one-hundred pounds.

I set a goal to be in fabulous shape for my sixtieth birthday. I am well on the way. I am working out with dumbbells and seeing really fantastic results in just a couple of months. I’ve gained five inches in my lats. I have gained a lot in my arms, too. The rate I am going, I will not only meet my goal, I will exceed it.

I have always loved cycling and I have kept in shape over the years on my bicycles, but, being a road-bike enthusiast, I have not had the upper body workout that mountain bikers get. Thus, I started weight training to build up my arms, chest, and back muscles.

Over all fitness starts with a good mental attitude. Find a source of recreation that keeps you fit, like swimming or cycling, that will burn away calories and give you a good cardio workout. You can also do stretches to warm up and cool down in order to prevent injury.

What I like about lifting with dumbbells is that it is typically lower weight, relatively inexpensive, and you can easily isolate certain muscle groups and work specifically on those seeing almost immediate results. And it doesn’t feel so much like work. That’s important if you want to continue working out. Most people get tired and quit before they start to see results.

When you get up tomorrow morning tell yourself that it’s going to be a great day. Make a plan to get fit by finding something you can do that will, above all, be FUN and keep you in good shape. Then, if you want to have a muscular body, incorporate a bit of exercise with dumbbells in your overall strategy and stick with it at least until you start to feel the results. That will help you keep going.

Check out the book “Living Room Weight Training: Dumbbell-based exercises and routines for building strength, getting toned, and achieving the body you want at home!” by A.K. Davidson.


In the future, I plan to write more about a total fitness plan for people over fifty-five years old. For now, Just concentrate on fun and fitness.

Get Noticed, Get the Job

If you think the job market is tough, try your hand at freelance work. Competition is fierce.

More than ever before, it’s the person who looks the most polished and professional that gets the job opportunities ahead of all the others. That’s why I am a huge advocate for the concept of creating a personal brand. You want a carefully crafted image and you want to make sure that it is one people will always remember.

Being memorable will transform you from one of the crowd into the go-to guy. You will be the one they call when they have a job to do and need your services.
So what IS a personal brand?

Your personal brand is an image that you create in order to market your services. It might be influenced by market conditions. It might be influenced by the services you offer. It might be influenced by the competition. It MUST be something that sets you apart from the rest of the wannabees out there in the freelance world.

While people don’t think much about it these days, your business “look” used to include the right logo design, stationary, business card, flyers, brochures, or other marketing collateral. It used to be that you would never want to leave home without a business card. I, for one, still use business cards to help people remember me.

You need a professional appearance, so get well-groomed. You need a professional demeanor. You want to enter an office or meeting to discuss your services with enthusiasm and absolute confidence. You should not have any fear, uncertainty or doubt at all (I call that the FUD Factor). Be confident, have a firm handshake. Make eye contact. Be interested in the people or the business with whom you are prospecting.

When you leave the meeting, they should have your business card in hand. If you have a brochure, leave it with them. Make sure that they have a compelling reason to go online and check out your website. That is where you can feature more information, including samples of your work, testimonials, and an offer that will have them submitting their e-mail address in exchange for some bribe (a free report, mini e-book, discounts to help save them money). You want them in your prospect file.

Follow-up with a little thank you note in the mail. Yes, the mail. I don’t mean an e-mail, I mean snail mail– the old-fashioned way. A note to say thanks for meeting with me, delivered by the United States Postal Service will be long remembered and will definitely be something that your competition will not think to do.

Now, put your best foot forward. Look smart. Look confident. Look professional. Get the gig.

Your success is a foregone conclusion.

When the Going Gets Tough

There’s an old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
I like to think of challenges, whether they are along a career path or in personal endeavors, as opportunities to get stronger, better, or grow in some way or another. When you set goals and figure out a way to accomplish them you can draw strength from your mind by visualizing yourself enjoying the fruits of your labor. Imagine yourself succeeding every step of the way to completion.
The first step is understanding what you REALLY want.

Whatever you’re looking for must first be found within you, whether it be peace, happiness, riches, or great accomplishments. ~Earl Nightingale

Man’s only limitation, within reason, lies in the development and use of his imagination and subsequent motivation to action. ~Earl Nightingale
Now, ask yourself, what do you really want? Then, think about the possible ways of getting it.

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. ~Napoleon Hill

If you can imagine yourself accomplishing your goal you can turn your dreams into realities. It all starts with actually setting goals. Then, you MUST realize that “the universe” is not going to fabricate anything and drop it in your lap. By maintaining a positive attitude, and surrounding yourself with people of like mind, you will “attract” opportunities and circumstances that enable you to achieve success. All of your limitations are self-imposed.

Set your goals and make an action plan. Don’t delay. Without clear goals there can be no clear results.

There is one more thing to remember. Do not measure success by money or the acquisition of things. Measure success by accomplishment.

Start the Day with Music

I have been a musician for over five decades. My favorite way to begin a new day is softly playing music on my guitar. It sets the mood for the rest of my day.

Music has always been an important part of my life. It will likely remain that way.

I grew up in a musical family. Every gathering would be an occasion to make music. We sang classic old Irving Berlin tunes in close harmony. It was listening to my father’s family that really taught me how to harmonize to any melody. Boy, could those folks sing.

My mother’s family had musical talent, too. Mom was a songwriter with a Nashville contract. Her brother, my Uncle Bob, and my father would sing old songs in harmony. I loved when Uncle Bob came to visit us when he was home on leave from the US Navy. He and dad would sing and I’d listen closely. My Uncle had a gift for finding harmonies out of thin air and I inherited it, too.

At five years old I was singing with my two brothers and pulling harmonies out of thin air myself. It was a real turn-on for me to hear us hit a perfect chord. I just loved it.

By the time I was teaching fly fishing in the Catskill Mountains, I had written a bunch of songs and played guitar for twenty years. The other fly fishing instructors were all musicians, too. We sat around in the evening and played guitar. One of us would start a song and everyone would fall right in. Most of those guys could not harmonize, so, I would when I was not the one leading the song.
On those crisp mornings on the river, I got the coffee pot brewing and then grabbed my guitar and started playing something light, finger-picking style. I’d just enjoy the mood and sip coffee until it was time to head for breakfast.

Now, it’s time for me to get the guitar and recreate one of those river mornings. I’m in the mood for music.

Start your day on a positive note. No pun intended. Do something you love first thing in the morning and you’ll set the mood for the whole day.

Cheers.

Seek And You Shall Find...

Nothing great was ever accomplished without inspiration. ~Earl Nightingale

There is an old biblical teaching. It goes something like this:

Seek and you shall find.
Ask and you shall receive.
Knock and it shall be opened unto you.

At first reading, most people don't quite get the meaning of these three simple sentences. 

Theologians are all pretty clear in their understanding of this. Jesus was speaking to the twelve disciples. He was telling them that "the way" lies before them; but, there was something that THEY must do. Seek, ask, knock— in short, take action.

It's the same way with business. If you want to succeed at anything in life you have to take the bull by the horns— make it happen!

Nobody is going to drag you kicking and screaming to the finish line. It's up to you to decide whether or not you want something bad enough to work for it, to make it happen. That is why having a passion for what you are doing is so important.

If you are not passionate about your work you are in the wrong field. The good news is that it's seldom too late to do anything about it. Colonel Sanders did not become a success until he was in his sixties. Kentucky Fried Chicken was his great success story. Prior to KFC, the colonel had to reinvent himself. Finally, he had his day in the sun.

You can too, and it need not take four decades to get there. So, arm yourself with information. Set a goal. Create an action plan. Go for it.

Remember: The best way to get something done is to do it now!

Make the Most of Life

Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt. ~William Shakespeare

Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. With that being the case, isn't it about time that you decide that you are ready to take control of your own future?

You are the sum total of your thoughts. What you have believed up to this point in your life created the person you are at this very moment. If you want to improve your life, whether it be economics, love life, career, or to overcome adversity, you can start by changing the way you think.

ALL OF YOUR LIMITATIONS ARE SELF-IMPOSED.

We are all limited by doubt, intimidation, and the fear of failure. The good news is this: We are all capable of reprogramming our minds through auto-suggestion.

In short, if you think like a winner you will soon become one. First, you must believe that your success is just around the corner.

Now, I will leave you with two thoughts:

Anything in life worth having is worth working for. ~Andrew Carnegie.

The Secret to immortality is first living a life worth remembering. ~Bruce Lee

Start believing in yourself today.

Health and Fitness

At the age of fifty-nine, I felt pretty fit over all, but, I want to look and feel great thirty years in the future.

I did a lot of research into various fitness regimens— like weight-lifting workouts. I am an avid cyclist and since my riding is all on road bikes my upper body does not get the workout that my legs and backside receive.

Since I have a martial arts background I realize that the perfect scenario is one where results come quickly and I can then maintain the level of fitness by brief workouts rather than an exhaustive series of presses, and other lifting exercises. I also want to share my workout with others.

Enter Bruce Lee

The martial arts legend, Bruce Lee, did a series of workouts designed for strength. His regimen was low-weight, high repetition. That meant lots of work with dumbbells and mostly free weights rather than machines.

After lots of research, I have designed a system that is giving me massive changes in strength and body sculpting. It is entirely based on lighter weight with a larger count of repetitions increasing to double that weight while lowering the count to sets of thirty repetitions. 

I am documenting results carefully and I will be posting some results and pictures. I will follow-up with a book documenting the food I eat regularly, exercises with the bike, dumbbells, hiking, and other recreational activities that have helped me maintain good fitness over many years.

In my book (Get Happy, Write Away) I mentioned that people often join a gym and work out for a short while before they grow tired of it and either give up or get too busy with other things. It's easy to understand because working out is often too much like work. I recommended recreation that provides FUN and FITNESS. 

For general health and well-being, that is fine. If you want to work on a specific goal, like the one I have chosen at fifty-nine-years-old, then, something like this plan is perfect. In about a month's time, you will see results and in a couple more months you will be amazed. From then onward, a simple maintenance routine is all you'll need.

Stay Tuned for More Details...

Columbus Zoo

Mary Rose and I spent Sunday afternoon at the Columbus Zoo. We shot a bunch of video and I threw it all together this morning.

I was using the Canon HFS10  and my wife was using the HFR300 camcorder. I added the soundtrack I created in Mixcraft digital audio workstation.

Indian Run Falls

My wife and I went to Indian Run Falls last Sunday. We were amazed to see how many people were in the water swimming, wading, or simply playing around.

Signs are all over the place warning that being in the water is illegal. As you will see, even whole families don't seem to mind. lol

Enjoy

A Lucky Find

I was lucky enough to find a really great deal on a factory refurbished Canon HFS10 camcorder.

When the HFS10 first hit the scene it was $1399.00 and there were not many of them manufactured due to the cost. The refurb cost me $333.95 delivered to my front door.

The camcorder has a CMOS sensor that is native-mode high-definition 1920 x 1080 resolution and sports a made-for-HD-video lens (10X zoom).

Here is a little video...

I composed the soundtrack in Mixcraft 8.0 and edited the video with Serif Software's MoviePlus.

So far, I am very impressed.

Thank You to My Readers

Book royalties rise and fall, depending on how you market and promote yourself. I've been so busy over the last couple of years that I have let marketing slip. It was a pleasant surprise to receive royalties from Amazon for sales in six foreign markets this month.

I'd like to thank everyone who purchased any of my books. Japan had far more sales than any other nation. I humbly bow and say, thank you.

I took a portion of the royalties and bought a new photographic studio setup. The upgraded equipment will be used for producing videos for my books and also musical instrument reviews for Ukulele Player Magazine.

One of the blessings of being a photographer and author is that I can write and use my own photographs to illustrate my books. I don't have to rely on someone else or use royalty-free images for illustration. I am also an "illustrator" and use a Wacom tablet to create images as well. Being able to do everything myself saves me money and enables me to sell my books at very affordable prices.

Thank You once again.

I hope you all enjoy success and happiness in everything you do.