The Dip by Seth Godin

Published by The Penguin Group, New York, NY

(c) 2007

"Quitters never win and winners never quit." Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. They just quit the right stuff at the right time.

Most people quit. They just don't do it successfully. If you learn about the systems that have been put in place that encourage quitting, you'll be more likely to beat them. And once you understand the common sinkhole that trips up so many people (I call it the Dip), you'll be one step closer to getting through it.

Almost everything in life worth doing is controlled by the Dip.

At the beginning, when you first start something, it's fun. You could be taking up golf, or acupuncture, or piloting a plane; it's interesting, and you get plenty of good feedback from the people around you. Over the next few days and weeks, the rapid learning you experience keeps you going. Whatever your new thing is, it's easy to stay engaged in. Then the Dip happens.

The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery. A long slog that's actually a shortcut, because it gets you where you want to go faster than any other path.

Cul-de-sac

The cul-de-sac (French for dead end) is a situation where you work and work and work and nothing much changes. It doesn't get a lot better, it doesn't get a lot worse. It just is. That's why they call those jobs dead-end jobs. When you're caught in a cul-de-sac you need to get off it fast. That's because a dead end is keeping you from doing something better. The opportunity cost of investing your life in something that's not going to get better is just too high.

The Dip is the secret to your success. The people who set out to make it through the Dip--the people who invest the time and the energy and the effort to power through the Dip--those are the ones who become the best in the world. They are breaking the system, because instead of moving on to the next thing, instead of doing slightly above average, and settling for what they've got, they embrace the challenge. For whatever reason, they refuse to abandon the quest and they push through the Dip all the way to the next level.

Facing the Dip

You may be sure that your product is the best in the world, but no one outside a tiny group cares at all. The marketers who get rewarded are the ones who don't quit. They hunker down through the Dip and galvanize and insulate and perfect their product while others keep looking for another quick hit.

Getting off a cul-de-sace is not a moral failing. It's just smart. Seeing a cliff coming far in advance isn't a sign of weakness. Instead it represents real insight and bravery. It frees up your energy for the Dip.

Walking the Solar System
By Chuck MacDonald

On Saturday, April 9 people traveled the breadth of the solar system in a single day. No, the starship Enterprise was not involved. But it was made possible through the efforts of visionary engineer Stan Lebar. Move over Mr. Spock!

Local residents made the journey on Saturday without even leaving Anne Arundel County. This surprising feat was accomplished by the third annual "Planet Walk" organized by Friends of AA Trails. The highlight of the event was the dedication of the Stan Lebar Plaza, located on the west side of the B&A Trail, just south of Aquahart Rd., behind the Harundale Plaza shopping center. Lebar founded Friends of AA Trails some 16 years ago. He was the guiding force behind the creation of a planet walk along a 4.7 mile segment of the B&A Trail. The plaza is the location of a sculpture of the sun, representing the center of the solar system; Pluto, the furthermost planet from the sun, is represented by a sculpture located at the Earleigh Heights Road Ranger Station. In between are 10 informational stations representing the planets of the solar system, each spaced a proportional distance from the sun.

Elizabeth Wyble, president of the Friends of AA Trails presided at the dedication, welcoming representatives of Anne Arundel Community College Astronomy Club, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and AA Parks and Recreation. "In addition to serving as president of Friends of AA Trails, Stan became the Planet Walk Chairman and oversaw the construction and completion of the sun site. We dedicate this site to the memory of our beloved friend Stan Lebar; may this plaza serve to help stimulate interest in the subject of space and our solar system."

Elaine Lebar, who was married to Stan for 61 years before he passed away, shared some comments about her husband. "Stan was the consummate visionary; but he also was a man who made dreams happen." Her husband was an engineer for Westinghouse who spearheaded the development of a hand held video camera that astronauts took with them to film the first moon landing in 1969. Elaine quipped about her inventive husband, "He was the classic right brain, left handed engineer, and I was a left brain, right-handed musician. We were completely different, so we got along fine."

Unity Gardens was recognized for its $1,000 donation to the Friends to install a native garden adjacent to the plaza.

Following the dedication, park rangers and docents from NASA, Anne Arundel Community College and several astronomy clubs were on hand to provide information at the various stations along the Planet Walk about the solar system in general. Anne Arundel Community College hosted multimedia presentations and hosted an evening star gazing party at the ACC observatory. NASA/Goddard Space Flight lecturers presented information that evening at the college.

The B&A Trail, the location of the Planet Walk, was completed in 1990. An estimated 1.5 million people visit the Anne Arundel County Trails each year.

For more information about the Friends of AA County Trails, visit the web site at www.friendsofaatrails.org, or call Elizabeth Wyble at 410-695-1137. The group will hold its annual meeting at 7pm, April 26 at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church in Severna Park.

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

Publisher of SUCCESS Magazine

The Compound Effect is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. What's most interesting about this process to me is that, even though the results are massive, the steps in the moment, don't feel significant. Whether you're using this strategy for improving your health, relationships, finances, or anything else for that matter, the changes are so subtle, they're almost imperceptible. These small changes offer little or no immediate result, no big win, no obvious I-told-you-so payoff. So why bother?

Most people get tripped up the simplicity of the Compound Effect. For instance they quit after the eighth day of running because they are still overweight. Or, they stop practicing the piano after six months because they haven't mastered anything other than "chopsticks." Or they stop making contributions to their IRA after a few years because they could use the cash--and it doesn't seem to be adding up to much anyway.

What they don't realize is that these small, seemingly insignificant steps completed consistently over time will create a radical difference.

SMALL, SMART CHOICES + CONSISTENCY + TIME = RADICAL DIFFERENCE

After that excellent beginning, Hardy goes further:

Right this moment: pick an area of your life where you most want to be successful. If you want to get from where you are to where you want to be, you have to start by becoming aware of the choices that lead you away from your desired destination. Become very conscious of every choice you make today so you can begin to make smarter choices moving forward.

To help you become aware of your choices, I want you to track every action that relates to the area of your life that you want to improve. The magic is not in the complexity of the task, the magic is in the doing of simple things repeatedly and long enough to ignite the miracle of the Compound Effect.

Just track one habit for one week. Pick the habit that has the greatest control over you, that's where you'll start. When you choose to make even the smallest course corrections consistently over time, you'll begin to see amazing results. But don't expect immediate fanfare. Chances are no one's going to notice them anytime soon. And yet, eventually their compounding effect will result in an exceptional payoff.

Forget about willpower. It's time for whypower. Your choices are only meaningful when you connect them to your desires and dreams. The wisest and most motivating choices are the ones aligned with that which you identify as your purpose, your core self, and your highest values. You've got to want something, and know why you want it, or you'll end up giving up too easily.

Your life comes down to this formula

YOU ... CHOICE + BEHAVIOR + HABIT + COMPOUNDED = GOALS

(decision) (action) repeated action) (time)

The book concludes with helpful strategies for eliminating bad habits, techniques for installing good habits and getting momentum on your side. The author also advises to occasionally interrupt your routine. Otherwise life gets stale. He also emphasizes focused time with the important relationships in the family including time with the spouse and children.

An important concluding thought from the author is:

"I don't want you thinking of the rhythms you can do for this week, month or even the next 90 days. I want you to think about what you can do for the rest of your life. The Compound Effect -- the positive results you want to experience in your life--will be the result of smart choices (and actions) repeated consistently over time. You win when you take the right steps day in and day out."

I had the chance to speak at my BNI meeting today in Gambrills, Maryland about three of the green products that Vollara produces -- an air purifier, our water purifier and the laundry pure device.
Our air purifier received a nice testimonial today from a new customer who has some chemicals around his shop that he uses when printing logos on t-shirts. He commented how the chemicals and the smells are being taken care of by the air purifier.

Vollara's air purifier ionizes the air through the use of electricity and UV light which causes the particles in the air to act like magnets and be attracted to each other. The particles quickly become too heavy to remain in the air, then drop to the ground, leaving behind fresh clean air. Scientific studies reveal that the particles drop out of the air 250 times faster than if they settled out of the air because of gravity. People who have asthma or allergies would be good referrals for me. Also, I am hoping to talk to more real estate people. The air purifier can help clean up smelly listings, so the properties can be sold more quickly.

Our water purifier is very effective at removing impurities like lead from the water. It also removes chlorine, but leaves the minerals, which have health benefits. The alkaline, electron-rich water produced by the purifier has a number of health benefits including

• antioxidant properties
• enhances hydration
• neutralizes free radicals
• improves circulation
• enhances colon function
• absorbed quickly at the cellular level

Most people would benefit greatly from the use of this product. Although the studies have been around for some 50 years on the benefits of alkaline water, the U.S. hasn't awakened to its benefits. Japan and Kore have been using alkaline water extensively in homes and health care institutions for decades.

Drink your way to good health with Vollara's Living Water Essentials.

For more information on Vollara's air purifier and water purifier, go to
www.myvollara.com/chuckmacdonald

Chuck's Choice: Crush It!

I just finished "Crush It: Cash in on Your Passion" by Gary Vaynerchuk. He has been enormously successful turning his father's wine business into a multi-million dollar wine business. I'm not into wine, but it's a compelling story on how he used his passion plus the tools of social media to rocket the business to a new level. His video blog is quite humorous and engaging. See it at www. winelibrarytv.com.

His advice for how to remake your business, begins with this guideline: "True success--financial, personal, and professional--lies above all in loving your family, working hard and living your passion."

Vaynerchuk describes how to use your passion for business success in 10 steps (p. 135 of his book)

1. Identify your passion.

2. Make sure you can think of at least 50 awesome blog topics to ensure stickiness.

3. Answer the following questions:

· Am I sure my passion is what I think it is?

· Can I talk about it better than anyone else?

4. Name your personal brand. Have a clear idea of what it is.

5. Buy your user name--.com and .tv

6. Choose your medium: video, audio, written word.

7. Start a Wordpress or Tumblr account.

8. Hire a designer.

9. Include a Facebook Connect link, call-to-action buttons, share functions, and a button that invites people to do business with you on a prominent place on your blog.

10. Create a Facebook fan page.

Chuck MacDonald is the owner of Vollara, a small business in Bowie, Md. For more information about Vollara products, including the air purifier Fresh Air Surround, go to www.myvollara.com/chuckmacdonald. Contact him at 301-343-2078 cmacdonald@ecobusiness.com. Chuck's Vollara business page is located at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Breathing-Free-in-Bowie/140971549287623.

The news around our household is that we are waiting to hear the news any day now about the arrival of our first grandchild. My son and his wife live in St. Louis and we are looking forward to seeing all of them in less than a month.

Other warm thoughts came from a small business owner I met recently at BNI, a business networking group I belong to in the area. He keeps busy running his business and has friends come over from time to time to work on a custom car they are building in his garage. It's cold in that garage and he was not pleased his heating options.

I was able to provide him with a welcome solution, Vollara's SafeHearth. This portable heater warms up to 1,000 square feet of space. it has a timer that enables the user to heat the room for two, four, or six hours. It also has an automatic shut-off in case the machine gets bumped or tips over. If you know of anyone who does projects in his garage or has an office in their basement that needs heat, the SafeHearth would be a good solution. In addition the heater purifies the air using Vollara's ActivePure technology. The SafeHearth produces over 5,000 BTU of heat and uses 1,500 watts of power. This SafeHearth technology is far more advanced than antiquated infrared light systems, which have become obsolete.

For more information about the SafeHearth, go to www.myvollara.com/chuckmacdonald. Contact Chuck MacDonald at 301-343-2078 cmacdonald@ecobusiness.com for more information about Vollara products.

Small business spotlight. CPA firms. Clark & Anderson, 410-766-5400, Glen Burnie, MD contact person: Sharrie Wade, CPA Breneman & Company, 314-469-7007, Chesterfield, MO, contact person: Corey Breneman Remember it's not what you make that counts, it's what you keep!

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe" Proverbs 18:10