Bill Parker

One of the many ways we are stressed in our lives is a result of incongruence.  Incongruence is the difference between your ideal self and real self.

Some of you may recall this topic if you ever studied Freud and Self-actualization.  Without getting too psychoanalytical I’ll sum this up as this: the greater the rift between who you are and who you think you should be, the greater the stress.

We are at harmony when our ideal and real selves are consistent.  When we have a job we love and are proud of, when our family life is running the way we want it to, and when our actions are in line with our goals then we are congruent.  Take a quick moment to think of the people you admire most in this world.  I wager their lives are very congruent, they do what they say, they say what they do, and they are at peace with who they are.  Congruence is indicative of personal and intellectual strength.

Incongruence on the other hand causes discomfort and stress.  This energy can be manufactured and harnessed for good. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Today’s economic environment is stressing not-for-profit organizations due to increased needs from people in trouble and less money flowing in.  I find myself setting charity envelopes aside more frequently as I prioritize where the money will go each month.  If you don’t have the cash to spare but still have a well intentioned heart then it is time to get creative and find other ways to help those in need

After a little brainstorming on this I think I found something that works for me.  As many of you know I run a small online retail store over at XekoShop.com.  I recently acquired nine rare sketch cards from one of my contacts at no cost.  These are rare and have historically sold for as much as $50 each.  I’m not comfortable charging so much for something that I did not have to pay for and that’s when it hit me to sell these cards and give 100% of the money to charity.
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Every day you make thousands of decisions.  You make decisions about what to wear, what to work on, who to contact, how to solve a problem.  Some of these decisions are complex and related to topics where you are not the expert.  When is the last time you took a 1000 question challenging test and scored 100%?  To think that we are batting 1000 day in and day out would be awfully arrogant of us yet we act as though we are near perfection anyway.

How many times per day do you say “I’m sorry, I was wrong”, or “you were right”?  You probably can’t recall because it’s not something we do enough of. [Read the rest of this entry...]

For three and a half hours this morning my Doctor’s office phone was busy.  My first concern was, why are they using such an old technology that a busy signal is even an option but once I finally got through I realized that there is a much larger problem, a culture problem.

When the bubbly young voice answered the phone I asked if she knew the phone line had been busy for 3.5 hours.  She replied (and I’m not kidding) “Yup!  It’s Monday!”  to which I said, “That IS highly unusual, did it sneak right up on you this time?”  She laughed it off and we took care of what I needed.  She never realized how ridiculous a regular occurring phone outage is or offered any kind of apology. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Would you like to see into the future?  I know you would.  Do you all realize that you have that ability?  It’s not easy and it’s not quick but with a little hard work, some research and an imagination you can in fact pretty accurately do this. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Change seems to be the word of the moment right now in the news but not everyone understands just what change really means.

When I was 17 years old, only a few months into my senior year of high school I was on top of the world.  I had it all, good job, parties every weekend, not a care in the world.  All I was focused on was joining the USMC and getting some trigger time in the desert.
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Right now you are participating in something great and you may not realize it.  We all belong to many different communities, diverse communities, communities with different goals and different ambitions.  Last week we talked about priorities and how to decide what is most important to us, today we will be talking about how we can act upon those priorities and maximize our results.  Today we will discuss the power of community. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Be a salesman at work and if you lead a team teach those that you serve how to sell their own services. It doesn’t matter if you stand over a mill in a machine shop or if you are a software developer it is important to sell your own services inside your organization. This will lead to new work which keeps you engaged and growing, it makes you more productive which is good for the company, and ultimately leads to higher wages and job security.

Take opportunities in the cafeteria, at the water cooler, or anywhere else you small talk with those around you to see what they are working on. Look for ways that you can help them. When the “what are you up to” small talk reciprocates teach others about what you do. Show them the value you can bring to the products, services, and processes within your company. It sure beats talking about the weather or silently staring the closed elevator doors. [Read the rest of this entry...]

Today I received my annual Privacy Policy from TCF Bank and unlike 99% of most Americans I took the time to read it. I was prepared for some far overreaching legal and marketing scum tactics but this approximately 3000 word fine print tri-fold had some information contained within that still managed to shock me.

Halfway through page 3 you’ll find the following: [Read the rest of this entry...]

We make choices all the time. We make choices about what to wear, we make choices about what funds to put our 401k money in, but do you make the choice of action?

Do you think that someday you will retire with enough money to travel and visit some far off country? If so then I have bad news for you, the remote people who live in the far off country of someday will never meet you. You will never have the chance to learn the language of somedaytion because somedaysia does not exist.

The detailed smart plan you have does not mean squat without Action. [Read the rest of this entry...]

I apologize for the gap in posts. I belong to a group called Octopus eCommerce (OctoEcom) comprised of Marketing and Technology folk who meet once per week to discuss our eCommerce projects.

I have been working on building a public forum for our discussion over at OctoEcom.com. If you like the content and discussions here you’ll love this blog. Head on over and give it a once over. I’ll be heavily moderating all discussions on the site so feel free to drop me a line.

Below is a list of our initial Forums that will be developed: [Read the rest of this entry...]

Each and everyday you are faced with a decision; what kind of day will today be? Where I work we have a saying “Every Second Counts”. It’s the ultimate equalizer of all mankind. No matter how successful or downtrodden a person is we all have the same number of coins to put into the slot machine of life.

Today you will receive 86400 seconds to spend however you like. You can do anything from watching American Idol to building a business with your seconds. How will you spend them?

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Ladies and gentlemen, do you have your priorities straight? I’m going to take about 5 minutes to talk about the meaning of life. This is 5 minutes of your life that you will not get back but if you are willing to let down your guard, forget about the daily grind, and just take a moment to size up where you are in life I know you’ll find this 5 minutes a valuable investment.

We are each given about 6000 waking hours per year to do anything and everything in our lives. 16 hours will be spent today doing what? Working, driving, grocery shopping, watching Jay Leno? Gone are those hours! You won’t get them back, ever! [Read the rest of this entry...]

I’m sick and tired if hearing “go deep” and “think outside the box”. Anyone who uses this in a speech without specifics, ideas, or examples is not listening to their own advice. These feeble attempts at inspiration may sound good but are simply white noise to the brain.

Going Deep = Details = Data

Think Outside the Box = Different Perspective = New Ideas

I group these together because it’s another case of Quantity x Quality. Going deep means getting more data than ever before (Quantity). Thinking outside the box means processing the data differently (Quality). Both must be improved in order to maximize your product.

Now that we have defined these terms let’s put them into practice. Here is how I approach Going Deep:

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I cannot believe 2009 has slammed down upon us. There is less than 1 year left until the end of this decade. I want you to honestly ask yourself right now - are you the kind of person to grit your teeth, clench your fists and sprint to the finish or would you prefer to lie down and let New Years Day 2010 roll right over you?

I thought so, now here is a simple process for setting annual goals.

Step 1 - Decide WHAT matters most to you so you can align your actions with your intentions. I do this by reviewing my priorities. In my case they are:

1 - Family

2 - God

3 - Friends

4 - Work Ethic

5 - Education

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