Time For Go-Go Juice! - Driving Success From Failure!

Good Saturday morning to you. Thank you for joining me. What’s in your Go-Go Juice today? Lately, mine has been an orange syrup that burns the throat when going down and has a nasty aftertaste. What the heck is with this cold? And why can’t Dayquil come in Cherry flavor like its night time counterpart? Actually, that one doesn’t taste so good either. I guess medicine just doesn’t taste good period. And the worst it tastes, the better it is for you (well, that’s what I hear). Heck, I’m still suffering from bad tasting medicine I took last night, which brings me to my thought for the day. Failure. Why is failure looked upon so negatively? People fear failure – sometimes to a fault. Yet, this is how our great country was founded. People have been facing diversity and challenges for centuries, yet the few men and women who had a goal to succeed, pushed onward regardless of opposition, risk, judgment and practicalities. These people are our successors, role models and leaders. They are the entrepreneurs whose spirits lead others to do amazing things. Right now, as our economy struggles to turn around, as the unemployment remains at all time highs, we are seeing an increase in entrepreneurial activities. A personnel executive recently stated to me that as people lose jobs, as the demand to make an income rises, people connect with their creative nature and venture onto new ideas and some are bold enough to try and start a new business. Yet, when we look at what it takes to start a new business, people fear from the possibility failure. Heck, even organizations who help fund the needed start-up capital judge a startup business on the measurement of failure or success. It is an oxymoron. Failure and success are one of the same. You can’t have one without the other. True succession is learning that you’ll fail, how to fail and how to improve from failure. Folks, failure in and of itself is a needed factor in effort to succeed. How does one know they’ve succeeded without failing? When a business fails, one has to ask why did it fail? What underlying factors contributed to the failed outcome? What was learned from the failure? If we look at our past, even recent past, we can see businesses that produced a service or product that was tremendous, but did not last for various reasons. Not always is it the service or product that was the culprit in the demise of the business. While you can go to school to learn about starting a business, nothing will provide more learned experience than the hands on approach. What you learn in books can be resourceful, but it won’t compare to what you’ll gain once you’ve done it. I will also tell you that people on Wall Street constantly gamble on the failures of others. It’s called “Short Selling”. So, even on Wall Street, our economy depends on a calculated amount of failures. How many people have skill, talent and ideas that are not being put to good use for fear of failing? I say those who do not try are failures in a negative sense. These are the minds of those who hinder growth. Our current economy needs new industries, new jobs and new creations – but it’s dependent on those who are willing to stand in the fire, fall flat on their face and yet find the enthusiasm to get back up and try again. To all my valued readers…I dare you to try something new, something fearful that has the potential to turn bad into good. If you’re not a doer, but a thinker, then get the thought out so the doer can run with it. Get entrepreneurial and take a risk. You may find it fun, rewarding and full of value. That’s my thought for the day. Remember, I take tomorrow off – so join me on Monday for a re-fill of Go-Go Juice. Be good to yourself and enjoy the rest of this wonderful weekend!

Time For Go-Go Juice! - Teen Boredom

Hey – Lookey here! It’s FRIDAY!!! Everyone enjoys the last day of the week…it means we get to catch up on other work over the weekend that we didn’t do during the week. (Washing the car, doing the laundry, feeding the empty fridge, cleaning house, going through mail…) Isn’t that the story of our lives? Work, work, work. Good morning – or shall I say, good afternoon! My Go-Go Juice has been brewing all morning – two children overslept this morning – my sophomore (girl) raced up, got ready and was out the door in 15 minutes flat! My son dragged feet causing me to race him off to school personally. Wonder how he feels beaten by a girl! I returned to whisk my other two teens off to their dentist appointments whereas the girls are now experiencing half their faces falling to their chests in swollen prodded pain wishing they would have gone to dreaded school instead. However, while they take the remaining day off to heal – they remain in blissful thought of the Spring Break that lies ahead – all next week. No School! Even I relish in the idea of having improved productivity by not having the added school schedule. And, today also marks the end of another school quarter – one more quarter to go! This brings me to the topic of the day…money. If you’re a parent, you might be able to relate…kids are a drain on our pocket book. Most kids and their families save vacation time for summer, so what’s a kid to do during Spring Break? Typically, go to the movies (almost every day), go to the mall to eat courtyard food and hang with friends, go to the roller rink, rent movies, buy new X-Box games, buy clothes or makeup, or shop for music to add to their IPOD. At almost every opportunity, a typical teenager has their hand out for a few dollars to go “do something”. A few dollars is usually $10 or more in cold hard cash and in multiple requests. Some teens, if old enough, might have a job to pay for their own entertainment, but what if they’re not? Money is not so easy to come by these days – so what’s a parent to do? Just say no and deal with an unhappy drama queen or testosterone king while you have better things to focus on? Not so easy. I know as a mom with 5 kids, I’m always budgeting and having to be frugal. Here are some ideas to help parents with cost saving ideas for the upcoming Spring Break boredoms: For your queen, offer sleep over’s for her friends where the girls can watch movies, do makeovers and do some baking. Maybe not in all one night – break the ideas up. Give your gal some organizing projects like straightening out the closets (not her room – that’s a chore. Mom and Dad’s closet is an offer of help), or going through cupboards and picking out items of non-perishable food to donate and put can goods in an order of her liking. Let her go through your drawers to fold and fix putting her organizing ideas to good use. As a teenage girl, I always thought my mom “fixed” our house up wrong and thought that if I was in charge, I would change things around. Take your daughter on a picnic for quality time and prepare to talk about “her world” – friends, school, teachers, homework and yes, boys. For your king…remember, if he’s over the age of 13, he too probably has ideas that he feels he can contribute to the home. You know how your son is usually willing to “fix” things around the house. He’s not interested in organizing. He wants to pound, make holes, attach, glue – that sort of stuff. But, as mom or dad, the ideas of tools and projects scare you and good heavens what he would do to hurt himself, so you’ve avoided it. This time, let loose. Give your restless boy a low risk job of changing blinds, re-nailing door molds, tightening cabinets, or even fixing the garage door that constantly sticks. Let him organize your tools – that’s cooler than doing clothes. Let him have a guy’s night and set him up for rockin’ to the tunes that you would normally tell him “turn down”. Already have Guitar Hero? Get his friends over and have a jam session. Let him go to the mall on his own (age appropriate of course) and hang with his friends for longer time than normal. They’re not there to spend money – they’re there to check out the chicks. Just lay the rules down for updated phone calls to ensure he’s OK and not into too much mischief. Take the kids to the beach, park, barbecuing or fishing – the weather is great (in most areas now) and Mother Nature has a lot to offer. Trust me folks, there’s nothing worse than trying to work and maintain life while struggling with the demands of entertaining bored teens at the same time on low funds. If you fall into this category, I feel for you. If you don’t, I have some kids for rent – real cheap! With that, I bid you adieu. Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend! Join me tomorrow for another cup of Go-Go Juice. You can’t go through life without it!

Time For Go-Go Juice! - Affordable Housing...A Dose of Good Medicine!

Well, good morning to you…at least I hope it is good. Get out your Go-Go Juice – I’ve got mine. I remembered the aspirin – I hope your events of last night were memorable and fun. Are you still wearing green beads? I’m almost out of tissue – again. Don’t you hate colds that just linger for all eternity? And then, it gets so bad, that you finally give up and go to the doctors in hopes of some medical cure to finally end your dreadful agony only to hear the overpriced doctor say, “Go home, get rest, take Motrin and drink plenty of fluids”, wondering why the heck did you even go in the first place? And I paid, “how much” to get that advice? You know we all do it. Well, maybe not entirely so – females yes, males – no. Why? Men hate going to the doctors – my husband persistently reminds me that it is a profession of people who are still “practicing medicine”. And then, he reminds me of the long hours it takes to prepare to go to the doctor, meet with the doctor, only to return back home and remain in the same condition that you left in (under most common viral infections). I must admit, I fear the “what if”. What if your condition mutated into something worse that could have been prevented? What if your viral bug turned psycho and became bacterial? Is that even possible? What if they ran a test and discovered a different cure? I’m scientific by nature and believe in the investigation of problems. That’s what a doctor does, isn’t it? But, for the most part, my husband, as most men, does not support paying someone to investigate, probe and prod if it does not result in a resolution. Honestly, he’s stubborn enough to have a heart attack and tell me to wait it out before calling 911 just in case it’s a simple case of heartburn. I know I have quite a few men reading my blog…am I not right? You know who you are (I do say that with kindness and jest.) As a problem solver myself, I have to agree in the logic of having a form of “resolution”. I just don’t want that resolution to end up on a dirt mound with a marble stone that reads, “He could’ve seen a doctor”. I think it’s a topic of argument that men and women will share until the end of time. Speaking of time, not to change the subject, however, our house guest is making great use of her time! There’s definitely a light at the end of her tunnel. She’s been quite successful at getting call backs from recent jobs she’s applied to. A bit of stability can go a long way, which brings me to my real topic of today – advocating for the homeless! As we have seen over this last year from our economic downfall, people lost incomes from lost jobs and many as a condition of that loss, also lost their homes. Homelessness is not a disease, yet treated like one. Federal and State agencies attribute homelessness to symptomatic problems that people have, such as addictions, mental illness, domestic violence, bad behaviors, etc. Experts estimate that there are currently 3 million people in the US who are homeless. Of that, less than 4% have direct contributing factors from such illnesses. Yet, the general consensus remains that “if there’s nothing wrong with you, then you should be working and therefore have enough income to pay for housing”. How realistic is this as the world has watched the spiral decline of revenues, job losses, businesses close and the immense amount of house foreclosures? I would love to hear the response from an MBA executive who lost his job over a year ago who eventually lost his home because he couldn’t pay his mortgage and finally shacked up with random friends or family members to survive? He too, would be considered homeless; however I don’t think he’d want to be stereotyped as having abnormal issues. Having a form of stability plays a key role to landing a job that will ultimately get you back on track and into housing, but it takes time. And, if employers think you don’t have a home…you are immediately dismissed as a viable candidate to a job regardless of experience. According to the United States Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan group led by approximately 181 mayors who represent 1,204 cities that have a population of at least 30,000 people in each city, reported that the main cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. Plain and simple. In today’s damaged economy, more and more businesses are struggling to stay alive and in doing so, cut their budgets hence, we now see reflections of an overall decrease in salaries and wages distributed to workers. These workers are also the consumers of needed housing giving reason for banks and lenders to lower the over inflated cost of real estate. One thing we have seen from home foreclosures is now there are a lot of empty abodes across the nation. It would be a tremendous idea if non-profit organizations and civic organizations find the means to negotiate with lenders to acquire such homes in effort to create the affordability. Everyone needs a place to live. Let this be my dose of medicine to my readers – get involved. While there may never be a cure to poverty in a capitalist society, we can at least unite to improve the quality of life for others and help people acquire a roof over their heads by pushing a resolution to affordable housing. It would have a positive effect on our economy putting money back into neighborhoods and city taxes while giving people a better chance of surviving and getting employed. It’s logical and makes cents. Wow – it’s now lunch time. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Time For Go-Go Juice! Happy Saint Patty's Day!

Top of the Mournin’ to Ya! Picking up from yesterday, did anyone bring me some tissues? My Go-Go Juice is Green with envy for the many people who are going to celebrate in the spirit of St. Patty’s Day tonight! Although, a Hot Toddy could do me a lot of good! You know, as a child, I grew up knowing it was just a day to wear green or get pinched. As an adult, I learned it was a day to race from work, attack the ATM machine and hook up with friends for an evening of feast, green beer and wearing silly looking hats with tall springing clovers that danced over your head. Most people celebrate it just because it’s fun and another reason to get out of the house! But, guess what I’ve learned over time…there actually is a reason for the “wearin’ of the green”, drunken happiness and a day to be with friends. St. Patrick’s Day is named after Saint Patrick of Roman Britain whose family had moved to Ireland. His father became a deacon of the family’s church dating way back to the years of 387 – 461 AD. Talk about long time traditions! Saint Patrick had been kidnapped by Irish soldiers and returned to Britain for use as a slave. After studying his faith and becoming a Bishop, Saint Patrick reportedly received a religious experience (a vision) to flee his captives and return to Ireland to basically retaliate against the authorities in effort to save the Irish people. He succeeded. Over the years, various traditions arose like “wearin’ of the green” which referenced the ridiculous green uniforms that Irish Soldiers dawned on in effort to attract attention from the government while making political statements. Today, wearin’ of the green usually refers to wearing the 3-leaf clover, also known as the Shamrock. In Ireland, it is a Christian symbol of Holy Trinity that referenced (the father, the son and the Holy Spirit), hence why it is considered good luck. The celebration of Saint Patrick’s efforts truly began consistently before the 1600’s and was implemented into the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church of Ireland to be celebrated during Lent Season (a 40 day period of fasting). On this day of celebration, the Irish could essentially “take a break” from the religious fasting and let loose. Hence, crowds of gathers enjoyed big feasts, dancing and alcohol as a local favorite method of celebrating the reverenced holiday. Who wouldn’t? With loads of fun, it’s no wonder people of all faiths, culture and countries now celebrate in Ireland’s achievements. The only thing is, I can’t figure out where the heck the Leprechaun comes into play…I think it stemmed from a guy who had downed too many green beers and instead of seeing pink elephants, he saw cute little men dressed in green. So, with my Dayquil in hand and my cup of Green Go-Go Juice, here’s a toast to the Irish and to all of you in hopes of having a fun evening. Just remember to designate a driver so you can thoroughly enjoy your night of green bliss. Join me tomorrow morning…I’ll be sure to bring the aspirin!

Time For Go-Go Juice! - Sniffles and Feeling Blah-ogged!

Achew!...Achew! Sniffle – aaaw! (cough). Well good morning – I think. Sorry, I have to start off my Go-Go Juice with a shot of Dayquil this morning. Stuffy head, congestion and just feeling quite blah! Yep, my kids gave me the kooties! I hate kooties. They’re like the all time favorite holiday Fruit Loaf – the gift that keeps on giving. But man, Folgers make a great cup of hot steamy coffee…great on the throat. Well, it’s been a week since I started this blog and I am tremendously blessed to see I have 5 followers and that the site was shared twice in Facebook. Some people have even told me they’ve booked marked me. Thank you to all who stop by to visit. While I find this interesting and fun, I wonder, who came up with the word “blog”. Wikipedia (another funny word) states that “blog” is short for “web log”, hence blog: A means to write or communicate as you would in a log (or journal). It’s interesting to see how many people write and read blogs. According to Blogcount.com, they report that 30% of Americans read blogs (over 91 million people) – and that, my friends, does not account for any other countries. Heck, Microsoft recently announced that 4.5 million weblog spaces were recently created through MSN alone. Now, that makes a newbie feel pretty puny. I say that and chuckle at the same time. When there is so much out there in the Netherworld, I can see how drawing traffic to one’s blog can be quite a challenge. I’ve been told to use RSS feeds, however, I’ve not quite figured them out yet. I’m used to RFPs – which has nothing to do with RSS feeds – however, I would love to figure out how to incorporate RSS feeds into a hotel market strategy. If these feeds are so good at directing traffic to targeted products, could the same method apply to physical entities? I think I need more Dayquil for that one. Do drink and eat up your vitamins – this “cold” is getting the best of everyone. Do what you can to avoid the kooties and join me tomorrow for another cup of Go-Go Juice. And, could someone bring some extra tissues? Just in case…

Have a bright and sunny day!

Time For Go-Go Juice! - Live Your Career by Heart and Soul!

Rise and Shine - it's another new week to tackle with lot's of Go-Go Juice! Ok, I have to ask, am I the only one who gets screwed up with Daylight Savings? I must have set and re-set my clocks twice either putting myself an hour ahead or two hours ahead...I think I'm finally on time. Some quick announcements: My operations blog is up and running: Victoria's Hospitality Operations and More! This week, the topic features Raising RevPar and next week I discuss Labor! So go check it out! The blog will also feature hospitality websites that I have used for years regarding solid companies who really know the business. On other notes, my two girls went to the auditions in Columbus and Rachelle, my 16 year old, was selected as a gal with talent and a look that they believe the entertainment industry wants! She was so excited - however, due to booking and planning, we're going to back out of going to Florida for their 5 day seminar. Although it would get her in front of leading NY and Los Angeles TV/Movie agents, we all agree, now is not the time. We're gonna finish school first then we can put some focus into a possible future in acting and modeling. But boy, did it raise her self-esteem! Good job, Rachelle! I bet you noticed I didn't write yesterday, (Sunday) as I will be taking one day a week to rest and catch up on other business. However, I should have posted that. I apologize to those of you who came by to visit - and I thank you for doing so. Today's message is inspired by words written by Naisha Sarin from my LinkedIn website. Everyone had an opportunity to post "The Best HR Advice in 6 Words or Less" - Ms. Sarin wrote, "Live Your Career by Heart and Soul!" Doesn't that say it all? In my blog from Saturday, I expressed how I love what I do - this is what I meant. When you consider how much time you spend at work - you truly "live" there. If your heart and soul does not sing at what you do, truly seek new opportunities. If you feel this is "easier said than done" and you're not in a situation that will allow you to do this, then find some value that can be your inspiration and latch onto that until you're able to do so. I also encourage you to contact me via email if you would like me to help you evaluate your career. Have a wonderful day and make it a productive one! Time for a re-fill.