Am I the only one who cringes when I see a (primarily) Facebook post that starts with "Let's see who reads this and shares it to show you like me" or "If you are truly my friend, copy and paste this" or "If you are truly my friend, join this game?"

I NEVER respond and I NEVER read it all the way through. You see, I'm not interested into taking action through guilt. I'm not on social media to be told what I have to do or to be manipulated. 

​I AM interested in learning more about my "Friends" and in seeing alternative viewpoints. I AM interested in being entertained.

We live in a new world where information is freely given. "Please" and "Thank you" seem to have vanished from vocabulary. The next time you are tempted force a viewpoint or action, stop and think how the same could be accomplished without forcing the issue. Please?

When I'm working with start-ups companies (from concept to one-year stages) I find few have created a Mission Statement. Many view it as unnecessary, as they "know" what their company stands for.


Missed are these important factors:

• It's more about the process rather than the finished product. To take the time to REALLY think what your business is about is a game-changing process.
• It makes you think beyond the confines of your facility or office. A critical component is in defining and articulating who you are to the world.
• It defines your brand. Many think that the brand is about a logo or marketing. It's not. It's about what people say about you when you're not around. Your Mission Statement needs to reflect what your business stands for,
• It solidifies team. If you don't have employees (yet), there is no better time to create it. If you do have employees, it's a great way to get everyone in your company to row in the same direction.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to Google the Mission Statement of companies you respect and model yours after. Companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, Nike, Ritz Carlton or Nordstrom's. I think you'll get a clear picture of what they are about and what they stand for.

Then I challenge you to take the time to create one. I'd love to hear yours through Comments!

Sorry for not posting for a few days. Read on to understand why.

​I am a Hurricane Irma survivor. At approximately 2:00 AM on Sunday, September 10, 2017 Irma's eye passed directly overhead while I hunkered down in a closet on a bed made of pillows ... and slept.

Two days before it began to look like the hurricane could be headed our way my former girlfriend and I agreed to part company. Before I had a chance to move out Irma became too unpredictable, so we agreed that I would stay there while she moved inland with her precious horses and pets (she actually got the worst of it, being on the East side).

Being that I was still numb from the ending of our created future Irma did not have much of an emotional effect on me, which turned out to be a blessing - considering how traumatic it was for so many.

The next morning I woke to find six trees down, no power and no water but no damage to the house or barn. Certainly more fortunate than so many. As the says wore on and power and water were restored, trees were cut up and thousands of limbs were collected I realized several truths:

• There are always others less fortunate than you.
• There are always others more fortunate than you.
• You never truly know what's going on in the lives of others.
• Someone else's misfortune or challenge is an opportunity to help others (as my neighbor did for me, and I did for others). 
• In the end it's what you do with any challenge that really matters.

So, as I council my clients all the time, I put my big boy pants on and faced both challenges head on. I moved myself and my companies back to the Tampa area and beach life. Transformation complete.

Here's to a bright future. May you find the same.