Learning Life Lessons In Unexpected Places
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of www.craigmotor.wordpress.com
Sometimes life lessons can come in unexpected places.
Like if you missed your bus to go to a sporting event or you have a flat tire.
The only thing you have control over is how you react to circumstances that is out of your control.
You can choose whether to have a pity party and rain on the parade of people who are having great days or see it as a life lesson.
I had decided to go to downtown Houston to put up a blog post and participate on Twitter chats.
When I missed the bus at a “particular time,” at first, I was mad at myself.
It was freezing cold outside and had to wait about an hour before the next bus arrived.
I could have continued to wallow in self pity.
However, I decided to just enjoyed the scenery and wait patiently.
After the next bus arrived and arrived at a local coffee shop where I normally do some blogging and participate in Twitter chats, a person was at the table where they was only one place where you can plug your computer.
With the batteries running out, I decide to make the most of it and in the process, I ended up chatting with college students and later, some business people who were on their breaks.
If I had arrived earlier, I would have missed out on the opportunity to have a conversation with the people about meaningful topics.
So the next time something does not go your way, take a deep breath and relax.
That could turn out to be a lesson in disguise.
Have you ever experienced a time when things did not go your way and it ended up being a blessing in disguise? You can leave your comments below.
Biggio Earned The Right To Be In The Baseball Hall of Fame
By Cheval John
The city of Houston has a lot to be proud of today.
Craig Biggio, who spent his entire 20-year career with the Houston Astros, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today on his third try.
“I got a phone call at noon time that will forever change my life and my family’s life,” Biggio said to the Houston Chronicle. “This is a very overwhelming and humbling experience.”
Biggio will join this year’s class with former pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz on July 26th in Cooperstown, New York.
Biggio was a seven time All-Star and had 3,060 career hits, joining 27 other players in Major League Baseball (MLB) history with 3,000 or more career hits.
He was part of “The Killer Bs” during the majority of the 90s and early 2000s that featured Jeff Bagwell, Derek Bell and Sean Berry.
“Craig deserves it,” said Bagwell to the Houston Chronicle. “It’s about time. I’m ready for July. I’m ready to be sitting there in Cooperstown sweating my butt off and listening to him. It’ll be really, really cool because Randy will be there too.”
Biggio also made his only World Series appearance with the Astros in 2005 which they lost to the Chicago White Sox.
One thing is for certain, Biggio deserved this honor because he played the game of baseball the right way amidst the steroid scandal that plagued the sport for about two decades.
Do you believe that Biggio deserved to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame? You can leave your comments below.
Video courtesy of MLB
Patty Elizee Knows How To Keep Her “New Year’s Resolution”
By Cheval John
One of the best parts of 2014 was meeting amazing people who are fulfilling their calling and making the world a better place.
People like Patty Elizee, who has an amazing podcast called, “The Brand You Economy.”
Ms. Elizee overcame a lot to be where she is at today.
Patty will share with me on Monday at *3 p.m. on “What’s The Word?” about how she decided to launch her very own podcast and in the process gained a speaking gig at the first ever Podcast Florida conference last month.
As of right now, I will give you a little preview of Ms. Elizee’s story.
Patty had went with the program of working full time and accepting the mediocre for many years until she came to a cross roads and decided to not continue existing, but create a life that she dreamed of.
In the process of reclaiming her freedom, she accept a four month consulting gig in the direct sales industry with her former boss in Dallas, Texas.
That small step led to her realizing that it was not for her.
So after her contract was up, she left the industry for good.
In return, she put herself into the world of podcasting by taking classes from Cliff Ravenscraft, a veteran podcaster and attending conferences before launching her podcast in July.
I can honestly say that her podcast is really amazing because she has interviewed guests like John Lee Dumas, Lou Mongello, Pat Flynn, Mr. Ravenscraft and Jared Easley.
Also, anyone who listens to the podcast feels a positive energy because of her lovely personality.
That is why Patty is going to continue to succeed because she did not give up on her dream of living the life that she deserved.
That is what separates the ones who keep their “New Year’s Resolution” or in the case of Ms. Elizee, intentions, from those who just give up on their dreams.
How are you going to make your dreams come true? You can leave your comment below.
*The show is normally on Monday nights at 7 p.m., but this is an exception because of the time she was available.
Also, if you like to find out more about other episodes of my show, you can click on the podcast page on this site.
The Start Of A Great Year
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of www.vishava.com
Now that we are halfway into the New Year here in the United States while others have completed the first day of 2015, we are full of optimism on what this year will bring to us.
Some had a really great 2014 which they are believing will extend into this year while others are looking to this year as a fresh start.
As I have pointed out in my last post, this is going to be the best year ever for me.
The way how this will be the best year ever is to continuously have a great mindset and focus on helping others to be successful.
That is in my mind the only way that anyone can truly be successful.
This year, I will be blogging three times a week only because I want to remain consistent with my readers.
The only time I will not follow this schedule is if it is 30-day blogging challenges that can help me to become a better writer.
I will let you know when I will be taking part in these blog challenges.
And since I mentioned I will let you know about blog challenges, I will be blogging everyday for this month because of a 30-day blog challenge by Natalie Sisson.
My hope is that every one of you will enjoy the blog posts I put out on this site.
Let’s make 2015 the best year ever.
Building A Strong Community Takes Time
By Cheval John
Photo courtesy of www.blog.getsatifaction.com.
Amy Robinette started her company, “The Gold Buying Girl” with only $500 dollars in 2008 and has made it into a $21 million dollar business.
Sensing a need to also help women entrepreneurs, Mrs. Robinette created the Women Helping Women To Network group last year in August and has grown the community to 3,000 people.
She shared her expertise at the Houston Social Media Breakfast earlier on Friday that was really great for anyone who are looking to build their own community online.
Here are some takeaways from the event:
Members want to know that the administrator is there. If you are not responding to questions that they posted, then you have already lost your community.
It is always important to meet each other in person because it deepens the relationship that you built with your community online.
Establish some guidelines when you start your community because it can get chaotic if you don’t have rules in place.
Always be professional. If you say that you are going to be at an event, make sure that you honor your word because if you do not show up, then you have tarnished your reputation.
AVOID DRAMA AT ALL COST
Allow others in your community to help you run your group because it is really a lot of work for one person to make it successful.
Build an e-mail list because social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. is only “rented space” and they can change the rules anytime that can affect your community. An e-mail list is your “real estate.”
Buiding a community online is not for the faint of heart.
It takes time and you must have lots of patience to make it work.
Even if you do succeed, you have to be willing to learn from others who doing well with their communities.
Have you ever thought about starting your online community? You can leave your comments below.
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