Save $1,000 Challenge

I am not really one for gimicky challenges, especially when they come from an online source. However, with the economy on a downward trend and extreme socialism about to be instituted in the US (if Obama wins), I think it is important for everyone to spend their money in smart ways.  The Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge might just help us out.

While a little late starting, the challenge has already offered 4 tips that may or may not inspire you.  The best one I think is packing your lunch for the rest of the week.  Typically, going out to lunch will cost $7, whereas a healtheir lunch can be had from leftovers or a trip to the store for $3.  This will save you $20/wk ($4/ day times five days).

I would encourage everyone to at least take a look at the tips offered.  After all, 54% (315/640) of respondants surveyed are willing to spend an hour per day to save money.  Let’s see how this comes out!

Goodbye Summer!

 

This summer has certainly been interesting. From my travels, the death of my mom, flight simulator releases, triathlon training and my award winning recipes, I feel like my summer has been full of extremes.

The highs include traveling to Colorado and visiting Rocky Mountain National Park and having lunch with the elk to winning “Best Meat Chili” at the company cook-off for the second year in a row.  The lows were extreme in their own right.  I laid my mom to rest after months of heart disease and visits to the doctor. I also decided not to participate in the local triathlon this year, feeling that I was not quite ready. 

I look back over the entire experience with a long list of emotions, but look toward the future with optimism and happiness.  Afterall, this November we get to get those icky, destructive, Republicans out of office.  I will continue to train for next year’s triathlon season, studying up on productivity and leadership, and keeping you all informed of my reality and the flight simulator world! 

As I look forward, I offer these images of summer as a point of reflection.

 

Boats on the beach near Santa Barbara’s harbor.

 

 

The USCG cutter "Blackfin" in Santa Barbara Harbor.

 

To The Future! Cheers! 

 

 

 

A Quick Trip to Colorado!

Hi Loyal Readers,

I just got back from a very quick trip to central Colorado to deal with some family matters.  I haven’t been to Denver since I was born there (my parents left Denver when I was just one year old).    I must say, Colorado is a beautiful state.  Denver is sort of like Seattle, only with not quite so many wacko drivers, and much drier.  I visited Boulder and Estes Park (the Santa Barbara of the hills) before driving through Rocky Mountain National Park.  I am still amazed at the stunning scenery, both the rolling hills and meadow of Denver to the peaks and rock of the Rocky Mountains!

The wildlife was very lively as well (maybe that’s why they call it wildLIFE?) Above the tree line on the open tundra along the ridge, three elks made a showing as they grazed on the flowers.  I really think the elks came toward the road to laugh at the traffic jam they would create.  Tourists will do anything to get a picture, including stopping in the middle of the road suddenly without warning because the woman screamed Elk!  Anyway, I actually parked, changed lenses and walked to where the elk was to get the below picture. Yes, I am a nice obedient tourist that is considerate of others.

Cheers!

More pictures to come as I process them!

Ye ‘Ol War on TV, The Simple Dollar Style

One thing I struggled with for many weeks and even months, was turning off the television and focusing my mind on other tasks.  This battle became known as “the war on tv” in my household. Some of you might remember my post, Things to Do, No TV, where I discussed some of the activities that I have done in place of tv watching.  While partially successful in the regards that I have drastically reduced the amount of time I watch TV, the war on tv became more of a reality check of priorities and the meaning of life.  Since starting the war a year ago, I continue to tell myself that TV is nothing than a marketing tool to brainwash the masses into parting with their money and wasting time.

And now, the war just heated up a bit.  The financial blog, The Simple Dollar, recently posted an article discussing the advantages of turning off the television, titled Ten Financial Reasons To Turn Off Your Television – And Ten Things To Replace It With.  The author also discusses activities to do in its place.  While my decision to go to war with the tv was not financial, The Simple Dollar points out that one can save a bundle by getting rid of the cable bill and saving electricity that the tv is no longer using, about $760/year. In addition, you’ll have more time to cook, more time with the family, and more time to devote to your business.

Overall, I found the article to be a nice refresher as to why I am trying to get totally off TV.  The financial ramifications are certainly positive and I would love to start my own side business. A little less stress would nice too.

Colcannon – A True Irish Dish

Since today is the original St. Patrick’s day for 2008 (the church moved it to Monday since it was interfering with their holy week), I thought I would celebrate by making something other than the typical Irish-American corned beef and cabbage. After reading a number of Irish country cooking books, it was clear that Colcannon is a very special dish as it is served serving the Lugnasa (August) Festival following the first harvesting of the new potatoes of the season. Often, this meal was started out with a saying, “Death to the Red Hag,” referring to famine.

The dish is quite simple, consisting of leeks, cabbage, potatoes, butter, garlic, salt, ground pepper and mace. Simply braise the cabbage until tender and set aside. Boil sliced potatoes with the skins on until tender and set them aside. Clean and slice the leeks and place them in a saucepan, covering them with milk. Bring to a near boil and simmer until tender. Mash the potatoes and add the leeks and cabbage, but don’t mash the leeks and cabbage too much. Add the salt, garlic, mace, ground pepper and butter. Pour into an oven safe dish, make some kind of a neat design on the top and then broil until browned. Serve once cooled slightly.

My impression is that this is nothing more than mash potatoes with a bit of spice. I used a combination of allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon as I didn’t have any mace sitting around, so I think the spice was more intense than it needed to be. I would probably add a bit more garlic and salt, as well.  I might even try it with red cabbage and rosemary, which has more flavor than the white cabbage. Heck, I might even stir in some chopped Irish Boar sausages or corned beef for experimentation.

DogTrot Papermodel Update

I’ve noticed over the past few days that arealityofmyown is getting a lot hits from search terms relating to papermodels.  In particular, the post “A new paper model project” has seen most of those hits.  This is the post where I announced I was working on building a papermodel of the toolshed, dogtrot, style sustainable living compound that I designed a few summers back.  An update is in order!

I designed it using Visio, which is a windows only program.  After printing it out, I measured and started drawing the papermodel kit in Photoshop. Developing the basic walls and placing the doors/windows was not hard and before I knew it, I had the walls built.

Unfortunately, this is where I got stuck.   I had a hard time visualizing the roof.  I wasn’t quite sure if I was going to maintain three separate toolsheds, requiring development of three roofs, or designing it with one big roof over the whole thing.  I always visualized the compound as three toolsheds with somethings like a champa or pavilion type roof over them.  The advantage of the champa/pavilion is that the could be covered with solar panels and/or “green roofing” while providing an expanse of shaded outdoor space and even carport.  For some reason, I just could not visualize the final design, the double roofs seemed like a waste of resources, and I couldn’t how the champa/pavilion roof would integrate with the three units if I didn’t use stock toolsheds.  Then there is the possibility of making the whole thing using straw bale.

As you can see, my mind went nuts with ideas on how to refine this compound.  I love the dogtrot style, I love the idea of living units, and I love the idea of protected outdoor space.   Back the drawing I went, but then the holidays came up and I haven’t gotten back to it.  To make matter worse, my guinea pig attacked the model that I built previously, destroying it.  I think it was sign from above to rethink the whole project  However, I migrated to an iMac (I love it!) and no longer have access to Visio and the files it produced.  I am shopping for a simple Mac based, free CAD program, but haven’t found anything yet.  I might return to old fashion pencil and paper and risk poking my eye with the pencil or dying of an infection from a papercut.  Skethcing it out on paper, with full elevations would make it easier to build from paper! duh!
Overall, the first version was a great exercise in visualizing the details and going through the process of possibilities.  Please stay tuned and be patient, the project is moving forward slowing.

Maxwell’s Second Law of Leadership

In my first post, Maxwell’s First Law of Leadership, I discussed Maxwell’s Law of the Lid in which ones effectiveness is only as high as their ability to lead.  Next in the ongoing series of Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, I would like to take a moment to discuss his second law, the Law of Influence.  Before I do, I would like encourage everyone to head over to Amazon and pick up a copy of this wonderful book.

The Second Law:

2. The Law of Influence
This law is quite simple, if you can’t influence your followers’ actions, there is no way you can lead them effectively.  Maxwell makes a clear distinction between influence and a title; true leaders can influence their followers despite their title or position. As an example, he discusses the influence that Princess Diana had over the world.  A woman who was afraid of her position and responsibilities early in her marriage, became one of the most powerful women on the planet, even after her divorce and the removal of royal title.   Her influence, many argue, was greater than the Queen’s.  Diana was a true leader.

So, when you think of your ability to lead, think back and recall the last time you influenced anyone.  Then ask if you influenced them through your title or your heart? I think this law has a lot to do respect and trust than anything else.  You must show that you have them in your interest and that your decision making skills are in line with theirs.  This is how you earn respect and trust.  For me, this is the case, as I have always gained the trust and have been respected by many people who call me for advice.  It is something that I take a lot of pride in.

Next, Maxwell’s Third Law of Leadership…

Maxwell’s First Law of Leadership

Success in the 21st century can be defined as many things. For much of the American society, success is reflected through a level of wealth and an occupation, or so I thought. As I leave my twenties behind and look toward the thirties, I often reflect on how I define success and how I can be more successful. I took at people around me that are successful; my boss, the executives at work, and friends. I quickly realized that they all specialists in their fields, are highly approachable, and are leaders.

This last point is what led me to John C. Maxwell. I was perusing my bookshelf and found one of his books. Mr. Maxwell has more than thirty years of experience in numerous leadership roles and has founded four companies, including INJOY, a company dedicated to helping people maximize their personal and leadership potential. He is an author of 25 books, including the book I will begin discussing today, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You.

As part of the productivity side of arealityofmyown, I would like to spend a little time discussing the 21 laws he outlines in his book. Each post will focus on one law and I will discuss how that relates to my reality. Since this is just a review, please head on over to Amazon to grab your copy, especially if you don’t want to wait for me to reveal all 21 laws.

Now for the first law:

1. The Law of the Lid
The Law of the Lid states that one’s effectiveness is only as great as their ability to lead. Maxwell uses a few examples to support this law. He spends quite some time discussing the origins of McDonald’s and how Dick and Maurice McDonald used their restaurateur experience to revolutionize “fast food”, but it was their lack of ability to lead that prevented them from successfully expanding through franchises. This is where Ray Kroc comes in. His ability to assemble and form McDonald’s Systems, Inc in 1955 exploded into what is now known as McDonald’s.

He then discusses ways to increase your effectiveness. He uses the Law of Diminishing Returns (law 1.5?, I guess) to dismiss the theory of increasing your effectiveness through increasing you dedication to success and excellence. You might work five times harder, only to be 25% more effective. However, by developing yourself into a leader, you can be 500% more effective. In fact, leadership ability has a multiplying effect, increasing your effectiveness as you hone your leadership ability.

Maxwell continues his argument by discussing trends in the corporate and sports sectors. It seems that whenever a team is on a losing streak or a company is losing money, replacing the guy at the top with a more effective leader is more often the first step toward new found success. The team or company is only as good as its leader.

Maxwell’s first law is simply that without developing the leader in you, your success is limited. For me, this makes a lot of sense and is part of the evolution of becoming successful. All of the people that I see as successful, the boss, executives, and friends, all would rank high on Maxwell’s Leadership and Success charts. Now I can begin to focus on what it means to be a leader and start down the road to being more successful… that must be what the next 20 laws of leadership are about.

Out With The Old, In With The New

Now that we are only a few hours away from 2008 being reality, I plan on spending time reflecting on 2007 and setting goals for 2008.  While 2007 was an interesting year full of lows (my mom’s trip to the hospital) and highs (paying off my car, my vacation),  I would expect 2008 to be even better as I continue to work toward happiness, develop this blog, and find my niche in life.   I would encourage everyone to spend a few minutes reflecting on the previous year, admiring your efforts and knowing where you are.  Whether it is a simple list of events or a complete scrapbook with photos, you will cherish it forever.

Buy Nothing Day

Black Friday is traditionally the largest shopping day of the year.  Retailers add to the hype with door buster offers and ridiculously early opening hours.  This year it seems that a majority of the retailers will open at 4am!  yes, 4am!  If you are crazy enough to go shopping at that hour, there is definitely something wrong with you!!   Then, to think that in the end, your car is crammed full of stuff that people probably already have and/or don’t need and your credit cards are maxed out, is just wrong.

But, this isn’t a post about crazy shoppers trying to get the last Pizza Elmo or save a few bucks at the expense of lost sleep.  No, this is about the opposite; protesting materialism, consumerism, and insane marketing.  Buy Nothing Day has been increasing in popularity, especially in the UK.  It is very simple, on Black Friday (this year, its November 23rd), don’t buy anything.  You can participate in this protest simply by not participating in the world’s busiest shopping day of the year.

AdBusters.org actually ask you to go one step further and consider a Buy Nothing Christmas.  Before you freak out, read the following quote from their website:

    “Buy Nothing Christmas is not really about refusing to spend a dime over the holiday season. It’s about taking a deep breath and deciding to opt out of the hype‚ the overcrowded malls‚ and the stressful to–do lists. It’s about reminding ourselves to really think about what we are buying‚ why we are buying it‚ and whether we really need it at all.”

Since every Christmas is a Buy Nothing Christmas for me, I will go one step further on Black Friday; not only will I not be buying anything, but I will also not start my car and consume any gas.  If I need to go anywhere, I will walk or ride my bike.

Here are some links to get you started:

Buy Nothing Day UK 

Buy Nothing Day via AdBusters.org