5 Tips to Save Big This Holiday Season

Save time this holiday season: Make a list, and check it twice. Save the agony of repeated trips for missed items. Be sure to group items by resource and keep your sources close together whenever you can. Drive once.
Save time. Get Organized.

Save money this holiday season: Before you go out shopping, take a very good inventory of what you already have and don’t need or want. I am betting that you have a load of goodies that would make great gifts, many never used at all! Consider giving from the wealth you already have before buying even more.
Save Money. Give What You Have.

Save water this holiday season: While it has taken me years to consider a permanent tree, this year makes the most sense with the severe drought we in Georgia are enduring. Permanent trees (well only until they lose their sparkle and start shedding) require none of that so precious resource H2O.
Save Money. Fake It.

Save energy this holiday season: Easy to do in the balmy 70’s we are experiencing, but what about when it does get cold? Use your fireplace. I see so many that are never used and they are great cozy house heaters in many instances. Whether wood burning, or gas logs, you can generate real heat!
Save Energy. Fire It Up.

Save someone else this holiday season: Every trip I make to the grocery store I add on one of those boxes of assorted canned foods for a mere $7.50. If that isn’t available there are coupons from $1 to $5 that you can add to help make the season brighter for someone less fortunate. Share your fortune.
Save Them. Share Your Abundance.

Stop Comparing and Start Winning

This past week, I had this particular message reinforced unexpected. Many of us are very competitive individuals, and I don’t mean just having to win a race, but win the promotion, win in business, and win in life. This is all good, except when we do this at our own expense. It is vital that we stop comparing ourselves to others and simply focus on our own personal best. There will always be those ahead of us and behind us, greater than us, and lesser than us; that isn’t what matters.

For example, there are designers that specialize in multimillion dollar homes and others who prefer budget projects. It is unlikely that either would do well at the others specialty, but better that they focus on their unique niches. There are speakers that are best with small audiences, under fifty or a hundred and others that have a gift for the more the better. I learned long ago while teaching at Emory that I derive an energy from my audiences and need a minimum to really create a synergy and the larger the better, that is just what I know about me. What do you know about you? How can you use that priceless knowledge to succeed in your life without having to “beat” others?
You life will become more peaceful when your desired experiences (aka goals) are your own and not related to anyone else’s. Personal best is the greatest potential you can achieve.

Footprints to Success

Wading through the social networking web can be somewhat confusing and mystifying. From MySpace to Facebook, Digg to Feedblitz, Linked In to Zoom, Twitter to Ryze where is the best place to spend your time and connect in a meaningful way with others? Sure you can spend hours and hours online just playing, but in today’s business environment it is vital to avoid the tendency to see this all as a big toy box and realize it can be a valued tool for business. In many ways it can best be compared to the optimal places to leave your footprints for others to follow you or make a connection.

Age, intention, and demographic does have a lot to do with it. In my experience, since many, if not all of these services are so far free, it can’t hurt to put up a profile. Many are short or limited to name, picture and tidbits only, then send a handful of invites out and see what sticks. I know it sounds haphazard but trial and error is still a reasonable test method. I’m getting good response on Facebook, and amazed at the number of connections on Linked In. Ryze hasn’t done a thing for me as yet and I’ve been there the longest. MySpace so far seems strictly social, but the jury is still out. I’m still learning the ins and outs on Digg, Reddit, and Feedblitz. Zoom is waiting to be explored. Twitter seems interesting but you have to be proactive and post blog bits with live links back. One of the best experts in navigating all this is Penny Sansevieri. Penny tells you clearly and concisely how to benefit quickly and easily from these networks. She’s got a great free ezine that really delivers.