We continue on today with part 2 in a series of 3 on the prime nine easy ways to avoid writers block when writing a blog or anything else on a regular basis. If you missed the first installment, simply check the archives to get caught up. As always, I’ll post my normal random blogs during the overnight update for those who prefer other topics in the morning. Enjoy! - W.C.C.
---------- (cont.) Prime 9 ‘Un-Blockers’– Part 2 of 3 ----------
4) Piggy-Back off of somebody else’s idea. Wow isn’t that cheating? No, don’t copy somebody else’s work but add to the collective ‘experience’ of the topic. In fact some of the best blogs and essays are interactive and contain links and track-backs to other articles on the same general topic. You may have a completely different experience when “choosing a new bed” as I did. Both of our blogs will benefit in such indirect collaboration because the readers that are interested in a particular topic, are probably interested in another article on the same topic.
5) Carry a notepad and digital camera with you at all times. Hey isn’t that two things in one? Maybe but who’s counting. The point is you need to be ready to document that ‘slice of life’ or odd-ball blog topic no matter where you are. So if you are driving and see a rather funny vanity license plate, write it down (safely please!) and either use it or commit it to your Fragment file. Eventually if you find enough funny plates, your blog can write itself as you simply “spell them out” for your readers. Take pictures of particularly stunning or particularly ridiculous subjects. If you are attracted something photographically, then chances are others will be as well. Many a great blog post simply start off with a visually jaw-dropping or funny picture.
6) Make lists of things with a fresh twist. Oh no, I just gave away the technique which gave life to this article. If you have some meat to your idea already, it sure is far easier to choose the right wine or appetizer. The more unique twist or niche revelation to your list the better. Readers need more than topics like “10 things I think are GOOD”. But you will have to fend off blog traffic with flaming torches (literally) if your topic is more akin to “5 Veggies that give you uncontrollable GAS”. The point is to give ‘em new, fresh, and accurately intriguing content and they will come.
------------- END PART TWO of THREE PARTS -------------
Ok, that’s the second part. Check back tomorrow for part 3 (the conclusion) after 1400 Hrs. CST. Thanks for stopping by! –W.C.C.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Giving is half the fun
Especially as I have gotten older, ordinary gifting has lost its appeal. It’s not that I don’t want to honor people on their special days or celebrate holidays or big events. I love all of that hoopla. But I am one of those people who really tries to match the “perfect” gift with the recipient. I take pride in trying to find just the right thing for that special someone and at times, the task can be hard.
As you can imagine, with the advent of chain stores in every mall in America, there is little I can buy that is truly unique anywhere. Giftees are imminently more practical today as well. How many cool stainless steel coffee cups does one need? Yes, they may find themselves attracted to the occasional hot new gimmick I purchase, but in the end, we all know the unspoken truth is that the gift will probably end up at next year’s church charity bazaar. So what’s left? Gift cards are available from every store imaginable but they are good for only one store and a check if lost, is so much more secure than a gift card. Cash? Oh sure who in their right mind would send cash today? Hmmm … sounds like an interesting challenge.
One such favorite cash gift we gave was all about the packaging. For my nephew’s graduation, I acquired a small sack of those gold looking Sacagawea $1 coins. I went to a Goodwill store and bought the dirtiest little stuffed bunny I could find. When I got home, my wife performed abdominal surgery on that unlucky rabbit and wrapped the coins tightly in his little bunny stuffing innards. My wife, sewed the little guy back up so the stitch was completely invisible and we shipped him off for the upcoming celebration.
Now this particular nephew has gotten used to our pranks over the years, so to make the receipt of a dirty bunny a believable gift, I included a touching letter. This fictional letter explained that the rabbit used to be our daughter’s favorite stuffed animal and she wanted her cousin to have it for good luck. We figured that would prevent my nephew from recoiling in horror upon opening the gift and throwing away ‘Mr. Stitchy’; or at least long enough until he could discover the secret stomach stash.
The final account of that rabbit’s life was told to us second hand, since we were 2000 miles away at the time of the party. Though my nephew politely received the gift as a true honor, his kid sister was so enchanted with that dumb bunny that he GAVE it to her. We hadn’t told anyone about the gag, so when we made our congratulatory follow-up phone call, we were audibly dismayed to hear that the little sister had LOST the ‘booty bunny’ out the car window by accident. We were crushed. We had hoped to share in the expectation of a mutual hearty laugh at our creative packaging, but instead we were frustrated, shocked and saddened instead at our stupidity and bad luck.
Uh, at least for a minute or two. Our dubious family of double-crossers were ACTUALLY on to us and had decided to GIVE us a taste of our own rabbit stew. It must have worked as we have swallowed that bitter pill for the first and last time. We still like to give creative gifts. But we did learn a valuable lesson about perfect gifting… ONLY stuff dusty bunnies with gift cards – cash can get lost all too easily!
As you can imagine, with the advent of chain stores in every mall in America, there is little I can buy that is truly unique anywhere. Giftees are imminently more practical today as well. How many cool stainless steel coffee cups does one need? Yes, they may find themselves attracted to the occasional hot new gimmick I purchase, but in the end, we all know the unspoken truth is that the gift will probably end up at next year’s church charity bazaar. So what’s left? Gift cards are available from every store imaginable but they are good for only one store and a check if lost, is so much more secure than a gift card. Cash? Oh sure who in their right mind would send cash today? Hmmm … sounds like an interesting challenge.
One such favorite cash gift we gave was all about the packaging. For my nephew’s graduation, I acquired a small sack of those gold looking Sacagawea $1 coins. I went to a Goodwill store and bought the dirtiest little stuffed bunny I could find. When I got home, my wife performed abdominal surgery on that unlucky rabbit and wrapped the coins tightly in his little bunny stuffing innards. My wife, sewed the little guy back up so the stitch was completely invisible and we shipped him off for the upcoming celebration.
Now this particular nephew has gotten used to our pranks over the years, so to make the receipt of a dirty bunny a believable gift, I included a touching letter. This fictional letter explained that the rabbit used to be our daughter’s favorite stuffed animal and she wanted her cousin to have it for good luck. We figured that would prevent my nephew from recoiling in horror upon opening the gift and throwing away ‘Mr. Stitchy’; or at least long enough until he could discover the secret stomach stash.
The final account of that rabbit’s life was told to us second hand, since we were 2000 miles away at the time of the party. Though my nephew politely received the gift as a true honor, his kid sister was so enchanted with that dumb bunny that he GAVE it to her. We hadn’t told anyone about the gag, so when we made our congratulatory follow-up phone call, we were audibly dismayed to hear that the little sister had LOST the ‘booty bunny’ out the car window by accident. We were crushed. We had hoped to share in the expectation of a mutual hearty laugh at our creative packaging, but instead we were frustrated, shocked and saddened instead at our stupidity and bad luck.
Uh, at least for a minute or two. Our dubious family of double-crossers were ACTUALLY on to us and had decided to GIVE us a taste of our own rabbit stew. It must have worked as we have swallowed that bitter pill for the first and last time. We still like to give creative gifts. But we did learn a valuable lesson about perfect gifting… ONLY stuff dusty bunnies with gift cards – cash can get lost all too easily!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
9 ‘UN-Blockers’ for Writers (Pt. 1/3)
Ok, folks in an attempt to work in a little more protein into my blogging diet, I am going to experiment with a short serial blog. This essay will be broken into 3 parts over 3 consecutive days. While yes, it may prolong the pain if the topic doesn’t light your fire. But the format will allow me a little more latitude in addressing topics that take more time to explore than my typical 300 – 500 word blogpost. Regardless, the idea is still to enlighten and entertain, so I’ll do my best to move it along. Also, I’ll continue to post my normal random blogs during the overnight update, so every morning topics will be fresh and new to start the day off right. Enjoy! - W.C.C.
---------- Begin Prime 9 ‘Un-Blockers’– Part 1 of 3 ----------
Let’s face it, you like to write and read, or you would have never started a blog. The only problem is that in a fairly short period of time, unless your life is rife with ACTUAL ‘taxi-cab confessionals’, your fresh ideas start to wane. Never fear as I, and millions of other bloviating bloggers, feel your pain and want to do something about it. We all start out with that same weak and wimpy blog-body. But if you bulk up on these 'prime nine' tips to sit down, lube-up, and start working out your blogging chops – then soon, you too will surely find writing Nirvana as the ultimate blockage-free blogger.
Now let me tell you first hand, as someone who posts at least two essays daily in addition to other writing tasks, blogging can start ‘dogging’ you big-time when those self-imposed posting deadlines are looming. Writing is like any job, no matter how much you like it, you have to find ways to keep it fresh and hone techniques to streamline the workload. In the end however, it all comes down to that dirty word ‘practice’ and finding your natural voice when you write. The best blog writers don’t struggle to ‘make it fit’ because their blogs are already custom fit to their natural style, expertise, and – you know … VOICE!
1)Start a ‘running’ document. Huh? This is a basic Notepad or word processing file named something original like “BLOG IDEAS”. I never shut down this document on my computer – it just RUNS all the time. Why? Well, some of my best blog posts materialize when I am doing completely ordinary things. In fact those things are so ORDINARY, that I will forget the “hook” that caught my attention in the first place. For example a “Pop Tart” may get caught in the toaster and I might reflect on how much “I hate cheap appliances”. Or maybe I’ll simply wonder how Pop Tarts got their name and figure that other people may be interested too? Anytime you find inspiration, expand on any of your running document topics but feel no need to finish. At this stage, we're not producing polished gems - your job is just to get those fleeting observations and ideas on paper. We'll clean it all up later with a few 'scrub-downs' and a final edit prior to posting.
2)Like your running blog document, start a “fragment file”. This document you can close normally but often it is a good place to throw funny word pairings or great mind visuals that you might be able to work into your blog posts or jog your writing-mind later. Random alliterations like “Apple’s Applets” or “invigorating ignorance” begin to help form word pictures in your writing. You should also store curious or interesting news headlines that may need further research such as “Winter Olympics trucks in snow” or “Prehistoric fish tastes just like chicken” would be oddball attention grabbing fragments I might keep. By maintaining a file of these ‘Big N’ Blasty’ fun phrases and entertaining news clips, you’ll be miles ahead in future writing ideas as compared to your blogging brethren.
3)Simply start writing. Oh gee thanks, I never thought of that? Ok, it is the oldest one in the book but guess what – IT WORKS. I often in fact cannot think of a clever hook or title for my stories but I have a general direction in mind to take the essay. Start smack dab in the middle and start laying out what you ALREADY know or at least write down what you think you know. You will be surprised how a few words will lead you to a few more, and suddenly you have a completed paragraph. Better yet, usually you’ll have an idea of how to hook your topic into that body copy and a good starting point for further research if your article requires sourcing.
------------- END PART ONE of THREE PARTS -------------
Ok, that’s a wrap. Check back tomorrow after 1400 Hrs. CST for Part 2. Have a great day! –W.C.C.
---------- Begin Prime 9 ‘Un-Blockers’– Part 1 of 3 ----------
Let’s face it, you like to write and read, or you would have never started a blog. The only problem is that in a fairly short period of time, unless your life is rife with ACTUAL ‘taxi-cab confessionals’, your fresh ideas start to wane. Never fear as I, and millions of other bloviating bloggers, feel your pain and want to do something about it. We all start out with that same weak and wimpy blog-body. But if you bulk up on these 'prime nine' tips to sit down, lube-up, and start working out your blogging chops – then soon, you too will surely find writing Nirvana as the ultimate blockage-free blogger.
Now let me tell you first hand, as someone who posts at least two essays daily in addition to other writing tasks, blogging can start ‘dogging’ you big-time when those self-imposed posting deadlines are looming. Writing is like any job, no matter how much you like it, you have to find ways to keep it fresh and hone techniques to streamline the workload. In the end however, it all comes down to that dirty word ‘practice’ and finding your natural voice when you write. The best blog writers don’t struggle to ‘make it fit’ because their blogs are already custom fit to their natural style, expertise, and – you know … VOICE!
1)Start a ‘running’ document. Huh? This is a basic Notepad or word processing file named something original like “BLOG IDEAS”. I never shut down this document on my computer – it just RUNS all the time. Why? Well, some of my best blog posts materialize when I am doing completely ordinary things. In fact those things are so ORDINARY, that I will forget the “hook” that caught my attention in the first place. For example a “Pop Tart” may get caught in the toaster and I might reflect on how much “I hate cheap appliances”. Or maybe I’ll simply wonder how Pop Tarts got their name and figure that other people may be interested too? Anytime you find inspiration, expand on any of your running document topics but feel no need to finish. At this stage, we're not producing polished gems - your job is just to get those fleeting observations and ideas on paper. We'll clean it all up later with a few 'scrub-downs' and a final edit prior to posting.
2)Like your running blog document, start a “fragment file”. This document you can close normally but often it is a good place to throw funny word pairings or great mind visuals that you might be able to work into your blog posts or jog your writing-mind later. Random alliterations like “Apple’s Applets” or “invigorating ignorance” begin to help form word pictures in your writing. You should also store curious or interesting news headlines that may need further research such as “Winter Olympics trucks in snow” or “Prehistoric fish tastes just like chicken” would be oddball attention grabbing fragments I might keep. By maintaining a file of these ‘Big N’ Blasty’ fun phrases and entertaining news clips, you’ll be miles ahead in future writing ideas as compared to your blogging brethren.
3)Simply start writing. Oh gee thanks, I never thought of that? Ok, it is the oldest one in the book but guess what – IT WORKS. I often in fact cannot think of a clever hook or title for my stories but I have a general direction in mind to take the essay. Start smack dab in the middle and start laying out what you ALREADY know or at least write down what you think you know. You will be surprised how a few words will lead you to a few more, and suddenly you have a completed paragraph. Better yet, usually you’ll have an idea of how to hook your topic into that body copy and a good starting point for further research if your article requires sourcing.
------------- END PART ONE of THREE PARTS -------------
Ok, that’s a wrap. Check back tomorrow after 1400 Hrs. CST for Part 2. Have a great day! –W.C.C.
A Tale of Two Loans
After America’s financial hub-bub last year, we all heard that lending had all but stopped for businesses and was painfully slow for even small personal loans. It seemed to make sense. After any kind of major shockwave in life, regardless of source, it is human nature and good business savvy to pull up the drawbridge and rely on your moat for your defense. Luckily, the worst never happened. Yes more financial institutions dissolved than usual and some of the shakier banks and lenders had to shore up their reserves ala the government bailout. For the most part however, everyone came out on the other side, a little more wary and hopefully a little wiser, but most of all - we survived!
Fast forward to my present day situation. Since financial trends still remain difficult to predict and we had some higher than market interest loans, we decided to consolidate two real property loans under a single lender umbrella. Our goal was essentially to have the same debt load and save with some minor tax advantages. Also, a much lower interest rate would be easier to pay off even more quickly down the road. It is a change of strategy for us and counter to much of my life’s training and experience to rapidly build long-term wealth.
See, it was not long ago that I would professionally advise clients to conserve cash at all costs and to do so they should load up on as much secondary lending as possible. At the time, as long as your history was clean, you could parlay a small amount of cash into a truckload of credit. I also have better than a decade of experience in packaging real estate investment loans for conventional lenders; so I know the game and the numbers required to close a loan and make money for the banks, the borrowers, and ME! We personally have led a moderate life and have avoided extremes, so I was confident that for such a conservative package of lending, we comfortably had the credit, reserves, and the history to pull it off.
Don’t worry, this tale will in all probability end in success. The point has never been the loans but the speed of the entire transaction itself. In the golden days, I have personally closed more complicated deals in less than 3 weeks and one with a private lender in an amazing 7 days. This current transaction was originally on track to close in under a month – very quick, even by the old standards. But curiously now, we will be lucky to sign on the dotted line in anything less than 8 or 9 weeks – half the original pace. Commitments are made; the paperwork is done; I cannot explain the delay – it’s just eerie silence.
So while we all indeed survived the financial crunch, it is clear that things are far from normal. I can assure you if my relatively small and highly secure personal financial package is mired in molasses, then I cannot imagine what small business lending is like? For small firms and medium sized businesses to break out of the doldrums they need credit NOW not tomorrow, to buy new machinery, raw goods, and finance payrolls. It is wonderful that we are all a tad more wary, but to move America’s economic engine, we need vision and innovation. To get there, our qualified businesses and borrowers need that credit drawbridge lowered, locked and ready to lend. Only then can we get past that dark and scary moat overflowing with unemployment, economic stagnation, and those oh-so-ugly financial alligators.
Fast forward to my present day situation. Since financial trends still remain difficult to predict and we had some higher than market interest loans, we decided to consolidate two real property loans under a single lender umbrella. Our goal was essentially to have the same debt load and save with some minor tax advantages. Also, a much lower interest rate would be easier to pay off even more quickly down the road. It is a change of strategy for us and counter to much of my life’s training and experience to rapidly build long-term wealth.
See, it was not long ago that I would professionally advise clients to conserve cash at all costs and to do so they should load up on as much secondary lending as possible. At the time, as long as your history was clean, you could parlay a small amount of cash into a truckload of credit. I also have better than a decade of experience in packaging real estate investment loans for conventional lenders; so I know the game and the numbers required to close a loan and make money for the banks, the borrowers, and ME! We personally have led a moderate life and have avoided extremes, so I was confident that for such a conservative package of lending, we comfortably had the credit, reserves, and the history to pull it off.
Don’t worry, this tale will in all probability end in success. The point has never been the loans but the speed of the entire transaction itself. In the golden days, I have personally closed more complicated deals in less than 3 weeks and one with a private lender in an amazing 7 days. This current transaction was originally on track to close in under a month – very quick, even by the old standards. But curiously now, we will be lucky to sign on the dotted line in anything less than 8 or 9 weeks – half the original pace. Commitments are made; the paperwork is done; I cannot explain the delay – it’s just eerie silence.
So while we all indeed survived the financial crunch, it is clear that things are far from normal. I can assure you if my relatively small and highly secure personal financial package is mired in molasses, then I cannot imagine what small business lending is like? For small firms and medium sized businesses to break out of the doldrums they need credit NOW not tomorrow, to buy new machinery, raw goods, and finance payrolls. It is wonderful that we are all a tad more wary, but to move America’s economic engine, we need vision and innovation. To get there, our qualified businesses and borrowers need that credit drawbridge lowered, locked and ready to lend. Only then can we get past that dark and scary moat overflowing with unemployment, economic stagnation, and those oh-so-ugly financial alligators.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Vote Veneration
With all the political flap in the news lately, sometimes you have to pause and take a step back to remember the noble tenets upon which our Republic is based. Those of course, among others, are the ideals of liberty, self determination, and who can forget – the old fashioned run-of-the-mill vote! Today all 'past-accepted' constants in America seem to be perpetually in flux and lacking permanence. The truth is however, when you clear away the chaff, liberty and choice still reign supreme.
I guess why this sunk in, is that I just realized how often we as Americans engage in expressing choice even when our President, Congress people, and local city officials are NOT on the ballot. In my case, much attention was paid this week, by our local lacrosse squads to select Captains. Even the coaches debated carefully on what way was best to present candidate criteria to our 3 teams. The goal of course was to ensure that our athletes were fully engaged and the ultimate vote was fair, respected and valid.
Further this week, I have begun to prepare the ‘Official Ballot’ for Women With Wings, an aviation group in which my wife, daughter and myself are voting members. As a non-profit , we do not employ thousands of people or operate costly facilities the world over. But when it comes to the ballot and the value of each vote in choosing a new governing board; the task is treated with same reverence as that of a multi-national corporation.
Biographical information and photos are gathered for each candidate. The ‘official’ hierarchy of that data is placed on the ballot and chosen by a blind draw. In seeking the fairest vote, each candidate’s photo and ballot bios are cropped to conform and look similar to one another. Additional experience and biographical data is offered as an addendum for the membership’s review. The goal, as with the lacrosse team, is to handle the process seriously and with respectful diligence. There should be no doubt that every vote cast will have EVERY reason to be done so with careful thought and informed consideration.
So when you get more than a little tired of all the bickering and political discontent, take a breath and flash a knowing smile. From choosing who will be the banker on family game night, to the line-up manager of your office softball team; the principles of the mighty ‘vote’ are STILL very alive and well. Ok, now please forgive me, I really need to turn off this 'Pollyanna voter' perpetual motion machine. I'm way past the SPF rating to fend off this sunny glow of optimism, and I'm afraid I'm about to get burned!
I guess why this sunk in, is that I just realized how often we as Americans engage in expressing choice even when our President, Congress people, and local city officials are NOT on the ballot. In my case, much attention was paid this week, by our local lacrosse squads to select Captains. Even the coaches debated carefully on what way was best to present candidate criteria to our 3 teams. The goal of course was to ensure that our athletes were fully engaged and the ultimate vote was fair, respected and valid.
Further this week, I have begun to prepare the ‘Official Ballot’ for Women With Wings, an aviation group in which my wife, daughter and myself are voting members. As a non-profit , we do not employ thousands of people or operate costly facilities the world over. But when it comes to the ballot and the value of each vote in choosing a new governing board; the task is treated with same reverence as that of a multi-national corporation.
Biographical information and photos are gathered for each candidate. The ‘official’ hierarchy of that data is placed on the ballot and chosen by a blind draw. In seeking the fairest vote, each candidate’s photo and ballot bios are cropped to conform and look similar to one another. Additional experience and biographical data is offered as an addendum for the membership’s review. The goal, as with the lacrosse team, is to handle the process seriously and with respectful diligence. There should be no doubt that every vote cast will have EVERY reason to be done so with careful thought and informed consideration.
So when you get more than a little tired of all the bickering and political discontent, take a breath and flash a knowing smile. From choosing who will be the banker on family game night, to the line-up manager of your office softball team; the principles of the mighty ‘vote’ are STILL very alive and well. Ok, now please forgive me, I really need to turn off this 'Pollyanna voter' perpetual motion machine. I'm way past the SPF rating to fend off this sunny glow of optimism, and I'm afraid I'm about to get burned!
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