First, let me say that I am truly appreciative of everyone who took the time to enter my contest. When I began to brainstorm about what the title of my second poetry book should be, I quickly decided to turn to my readership in order to come up with the best title possible. And, when I engaged you, the reader, I was not disappointed at all. So many ideas poured in, and I was a bit overwhelmed by the added quality of so many; that made my job of picking just one so much more difficult. I was patient and diligent in coming to my decision, and I turned to some of those people within my inner circle that did not submit an entry into the fun title contest for some added input and opinion. To them, I am also extremely grateful!

So, after putting many hours into this decision, I am excited to announce that the winner of the “Title My Next Book” contest and hence recipient of a signed copy of the upcoming book upon its release is (drum roll… ) Andrew McLaren! Congratulations! I have selected “Guerrilla Wordfare” as the title of my next book. This title really speaks to the heart and soul of the content that will fill this book’s pages! Again, I am thankful for the great contest participation, and I look forward to providing book release details as they become available!

Whether in the world of business or in the world of personal challenges, we cannot allow fear to own and control our every move. According to Sven Goran Eriksson, “the greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” To succeed, we must take risks, but we also cannot simply take risks so foolishly. Instead, we should plan and prepare accordingly, and then we can take those appropriate risks! As I mentioned in my last blog, I like to challenge myself and take a chance! I do not mind trying new things. In doing so, I am becoming a better person, discovering great new things along my journey. Also, we cannot simply give up. There are occasions where you may endure a setback or possibly fail, but you must not quite. Sometimes, we just have to get back up and try again. Other times, it might be best to reevaluate and just try another route.

In 2008, I was looking to try a new adventure, and, as a thrill seeker, I found skydiving to be my next challenge. Sure, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane at approximately 10,000 feet can be a bit scary, but I did not jump unprepared. Instead, I researched about the sport of skydiving, and then I acquainted myself with the equipment that was going to allow me to safely perform this thrill! In addition, I followed the safety guidelines of the USPA and absorbed the necessary knowledge from the skydiving instructors. In the summer of 2008, I completed my first jump in Saginaw, Michigan. I then went on to jump three more times that summer, each time learning from the previous experiences. Below is a video of my third jump. While I had jumped twice before this video, this was the first time jumping out of the Cessna 206. As you may be able to see, I tumbled a little bit while exiting the plane, a mistake that I corrected on my fourth jump. Also, I miscalculated my landing, slowing my parachute down a little early -- hence the harder than normal landing. Each time, I learned and then improved from mistakes’ lessons.

We cannot allow fear to get in the way. With proper training, guidance, and knowledge, anything is possible, and we must always remember that! Set S.M.A.R.T. goals! Make them specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Do not be afraid to fail; instead, we must maintain motivation, continuously learn on the fly and as the environment changes, and enjoy the journey!

Like the Old Proverb says… Where there’s a will, there’s a way! So, maintain your will, find a way, and do not be afraid to fail!

Too often, we are content with what we currently have, and we tend not to welcome change. This occurs both within our personal lives and certainly within the business world. Too often, we are left behind when we do not look to new adventures and social trends. Of course, there are numerous examples of this within our very lives. Personally, I have never tried tofu. As a proud meat and potatoes kind of guy, I have never taken the liberty of ordering some, but that all changed last evening. I tried blackened and barbequed tofu with rice; even though I favored the barbeque-seasoned tofu, I liked both! Was it a risk? Sure! But, it is a good risk, and I am willing to try almost anything new for the sake of knowing what I truly enjoy and refining who I am as a person! As a result of me embracing this opportunity, I have gained a taste for a new food, something that I know for future reference (one more great option to pick from)! Take another example like social media! It has helped us connect in ways that many of us have never imagined. For some, it helped reconnect with lost friends. For others, it helped reach a new niche market and gain increased revenues and new loyal customers. Many people have shied away from this newer technology and social phenomenon. For those who decided to embrace it, great things have occurred. Certainly, it is not the universal answer, but it opens up great and new doors – new opportunities!

No matter what part of life you focus on, there are changes just waiting to be made. These are not just the ridiculous or irrational changes, for there are numerous others as well. Do you need to take every turn in the roadway? No, but we also should not be unwilling to make promising changes in any part of our lives! Letting such opportunities, both business and personal, pass us by simply pushes us further away from achieving our optimal greatness! While some changes may be mistakes, avoiding all types of change (and hence opportunity) would unfortunately be the greatest mistake. Hence, we should embrace change and get a head start on our competition. Make the best of life and write your own future instead of simply following someone else’s plan.

Currently, I am wrapping up my second poetry book. I anticipate that this book will be published and available to the public sometime in the late spring of this year. My first book, Reflections on Life’s Roller Coaster Rides, contained 100 poems and coming up with the title was pretty easy as the book described how life has its ups and downs, just like a great and terrifying roller coaster. However, my follow-up book of poetry will be a bit longer (currently enlisting 260 of my most recent poems over a vast array of life changing topics). The overall theme of the book is that of famous battles within our lives, and I could envision my cover, which has yet to be drawn, as a battlefield of some sort, but that is by no means set in stone. This is where you, the avid reader, come in. I would like to engage you, my creative and intelligent reader, to come up with what the title of this book should be. I set out to write this book with the goal of enabling each reader to make it his or her own, a book that he or she could relate to in some way, shape, or form.

Here are some of the book particulars that might help you visualize and conceptualize my next book’s title. The book has three main sections and a total of 13 themed chapters. Below, I have listed the current outline of my book (example: theme – current chapter title).

Section 1

1. Beauty – Battle of Beauty Bay
2. Hope/Future – Humbled at Hope Harbor
3. Inspiration – Invasion on Inspiration Island
4. Love – Attack on Lover’s Lake

Section 2

1. Challenges – Covert Ops on The Challenge Chamber
2. Disappointment – Destroying Disappointment Dungeon
3. Frustrations/Stress – Assault on Fort Frustration
4. Loneliness – The Landing at Lonely Lodge
5. Reality – Raid on Reality Ridge

Section 3

1. Honor/Integrity/Trust – Intrusion on Trusting Times
2. Promises and Commitments – The Climb to Promise Peak
3. Courage – Infiltrating Courage Cove
4. Wisdom – Sneak Attack on Wisdom Warship

I ask that you comment to this blog below with your recommended book title (a subtitle is optional) so everyone else can see. Just to clarify, this is a free-spirited contest. This contest will remain open until the end of January. On February 1, 2010, I will take only those recommended titles that are submitted via this blog’s comments and declare a winner. I will post the name of the contest winner as a new blog post and via Facebook, Twitter, and on MCH Publications’s website! By entering a name in the contest and being chosen, you are giving the name and all rights to it to me and my publisher. In exchange for the winning title, I will acknowledge the winner in the book, and I will send (within North America) a free, signed copy of the book to the winner upon the book’s release.

Okay folks! It is official, for we survived 2009, and a fresh new year has begun. After jumping over hurdles, enduring a few struggles, and sharing a good number of great smiles, it is time to push into this new decade. Like most, I have learned a great deal throughout 2009, and I am extremely excited to step into this new decade with new knowledge, renewed motivation, and the necessary determination to achieve all of the goals that I have made thus far and for those that I do not know that I will make yet in 2010.

So, here it is time to pull out those resolutions and get to it. Here are my top 10 resolutions for 2010:

1. Spend more enjoyable time with my closest friends and family! Reconnecting with some from years past would be great too!
2. Further engage the conversation within the social media and other communication channels – with customers, friends, colleagues, and everyone in between.
3. Set aside even more time within my week to exercise and play guitar.
4. Finish my second poetry book for publication and venture into new writing projects, both online and off.
5. Read more… knowledge is power, and you can never have enough of it!
6. Pay It Forward even more!
7. Write two KAMs for my Ph. D. in Applied Management and Decision Sciences program.
8. Earn my A License from the USPA (for skydiving).
9. Take a vacation – Vegas anyone?
10. Become a better dancer!

No matter what your goals are, I wish each of you the very best in 2010. Before we know it, we will be ringing in 2011, so let’s get to it and be grateful for each day!