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OPENING PAGE RELATING TO: A PUBLIC TOILET: (Also called a bathroom, restroom, comfort room, powder room, toilet room, washroom, water closet, W.C., public lavatory) is a room or small building containing one or more toilets and possibly also urinals which is available for use by the general public, or in a broader meaning of “public” by customers of other services. Public toilets are commonly separated by gender into male and female facilities, although some can be unisex, particularly the smaller or single occupancy types. Increasingly, public toilets incorporate accessible toilets and features to cater for people with disabilities. They are typically found in railway stations, schools, bars, restaurants, nightclubs or filling stations. Portable toilets are often provided at festivals and at temporary events for public use.
FLUSH: A BLUSH A ROSY GLOW A FLUSH OF EMBARRASSMENT ON FACE A SUDDEN RISE OF EMOTION OR EXCITEMENT: A FLUSH OF ANGER A GLOWING FRESHENESS OR VIGOR: THE FLUSH OF YOUTH
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Foreward:
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Author’s Note: Hello. I hope you can find some relevance in your business, some laughter in your soul and some great revelations as you read, “You can always find a FLUSH in there!”. With over 30 years of experience in the Entertainment Industry, Sales and Marketing, Gaming, and Direct Sales, (to name a few things) I have met a lot of people and have had lots of great experiences, many funny ones in the restroom. My Mom always wanted me to write this book. When I worked as a Disc Jockey, I would always come home with funny stories from the restroom. You will read some of them here. I have now found a way to include business tips and make it fun and interesting. See if you have had any similar experiences in the restrooms, or similar fears in your business. Make sure you close your eyes and reflect on that when you do. One of the things we laughed about a lot, while I spent time in the gaming industry, is how I got the title for this book. Well I’m sure you can relate to entering a large store, building or event where you find yourself asking an employee of some sort where the restroom is. (Or in some cases, people are always asking you) So while I was in gaming, dealing with cards a lot, people were constantly asking me where the restrooms were. It would always get a laugh when I would reply and then calmly follow it with, “YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND A FLUSH IN THERE”. Some of the stories are more about the story. Some are more about the laugh, some are more about the business tip and how you THINK about your business . Some are just a way for YOU to use your mind and live out your own stories. This book has been inside of me for a long time. Enjoy it as you relate these stories to your own experiences.
Ava Holly Lewis Page 5
Let’s talk for a moment about a FLUSH. Again, in the gaming industry people would ask me how to tell if they have a FLUSH. A lot of times I would say, “That one is easy, when you blush you are flushedall the same color...”Here is what I found to be an on-line definition of the word FLUSH: A BLUSH, ROSY GLOW, A FLUSH OF EMBARRASSMENT ON HIS FACE. A RUSHING OR OVERSPREADING FLOW, AS OF WATER. A SUDDEN RISE OF EMOTION OR EXCITEMENT: A FLUSH OF ANGER GLOWING FRESHNESS OR VIGOR: THE FLUSH OF YOUTH
FLUSH NOTE ABOUT THE NUMBERS: I just love numbers. Maybe it’s because I grew up around numbers in dealing with my Dad’s businesses. Maybe it’s because I grew up around a family that just loved cards. Mom and Dad always had some kind of card game going on somewhere. Funny how history repeats itself. My Dad was a great Math-guy. He was always able to make me see a mathematical problem in a different way. Me----not so much. I’m great at simple Math, great at making change... ( the old fashioned way, without a computer)... Yet I’d love to leave the real MATH to the mathematicians. My daughter, loves math. Just funny! Art, the love of my life, loves cards-well he loves me too but mostly cards-just like my Mom and Dad did. Now don’t get me wrong, I like cards, I like math. I just enjoy simple forms of both. Anyone that knows me knows how much I’m fascinated by how certain numbers always show up in my life. Do you get that too? I love birthdays, addresses, things attached to numbers that have some meaning to me. I find it funny how they always show up around me. The “1/2” story is a shorter story I use as a lead in. The end number can be whatever you want it to be........ Thank you Mom for your love and wisdom. I now carry you with me wherever I go. Thank you to the eWomen Network for making me stop saying, “Someday, I’m going to write this book”, and making me realize that the time was NOW. With the love and support of Art and my beautiful daughter, Brieanne, this book was possible. I love them for just putting up with me. I love them for all the stories and memories we can share together- many of them in the restroom.
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Flush #1/2
“Mom???” Why is it when I hear the word “Mom?” just like that with a big question mark at the end, I just know someone is calling me from the toilet. Is there some instruction booklet somewhere that explains that when you get onto the toilet and the roll of paper is empty, all you have to do is call out, “Mom?” or “Hon?” and a roll of paper magically appears. My friend, Marti, has this great plaque in one of her bathrooms in her home. It says, “ Changing the roll of toilet paper does not cause brain damage!” I just love that. Why is it that no one notices the paper is empty or just about empty til they sit down on the toilet!!!
BUSINESS TIP: Do the best that you can to be prepared. Take the extra steps you need to, bring the extra things you need to, so you are not in the middle of a situation you can’t get out of.
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Flush #1:
“...And the walls, came tumbling down...” So here I am at a business function with the local chamber of commerce. I was working as a Disc Jockey with an event company and we were setting up huge sets of characters, music, all kinds of cool things for this event. This area was not my home town and I wasn’t used to driving there yet so I left my home really early and proceeded down the Garden State Parkway . I wanted to get there early so I would know exactly what needed to be done. Page 8
So I arrive at the venue , in the pouring rain, I guess about an hour before I was expected to be there. I didn’t really expect to see many people there yet, but I knew there was a lot to set up and I expected to see SOMEONE. NOT ! The only person in the entire place was a gentleman hired to set up a DRY-ICE display at the entrance.... He didn’t really pay much mind to me... I’m sure someone had let him in to do his thing, early as I said, and then maybe they left. So I unloaded my gear , by myself, and I waited. Now an hour has gone by and no one has shown up yet at all. Dry Ice guy still doing his thing in the entrance-way..... So I waited …. Another 40 minutes goes by and still no one has shown up yet. Dry Ice guy still doing his thing in the entranceway. Have no idea where I’m supposed to set up, put things etc.. By this time I was getting a little nervous. Yes I was early, but by now SOMEONE should have been here starting to set up. Remember this is PRE-CELL PHONE mania so I have no real way to reach anyone. There was no one at the place to talk to except the Dry Ice guy and all I could do was wait. At this point I start getting agitated. ( That takes a lot too, I’m usually quite calm in these situations). Now it’s close to 2 hours that I’m there , no one is there setting up except...you know who...and I’m getting worried. At this point , I really have to use the restroom. So I ask the dry ice guy where that is. I walk into the ladies room quite frustrated, I go into the stall and I feel my blood start to boil. I use the restroom, upset the whole time and when I’m done, I walk out of the stall, slam the door …. and to my surprise........the whole entire stall comes apart and falls over..... the wall came tumbling down on one side, the door came off.... the whole nine.... Well, I started cracking up and that took me back to a somewhat normal state. (whatever that is) I propped up the wall fixed my shirt and walked out as if nothing had happened. Shortly after that, the whole crew showed up and the event carried on. They got lost and with the rain just couldn’t get there any quicker.
BUSINESS TIP: So we build ourselves up with these expectations. We let it get so bad that we can’t breathe.... Let this teach us that things will work out. Sometimes, events and situations are out of our control and we must carry on. The anger we feel can make us so strong that we don’t know our own strength. I’m sure we’ve all heard that before. Learn to laugh when that happens. Things may sometimes fall apart and need to be built back up again. Laugh it off and move forward.
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Flush #2
“Hello?”
“Hello?”
“Hello?” So I’m still in the D.J. Phase of my life at this point. I’m out covering a H.S. Event, again, far away from home. Now I’m there by myself, which was typical, and at the end, I’m by myself packing up. By this time I have the “pack up” down to a science so I’m not too worried. The only thing is that it takes me a little longer doing it alone than it would if I had help. Usually not too big a deal-except for this particular night. I am set up where there is a sort of loading area not to far away from where I am. Cool, I thought, easy to get out. So I come to the end of a great event and I’m packing up. I load everything in it’s place just inside the entrance-way where the loading area is. Page 10
Now I have a long drive home....roughly hour and a half so I plan to use the restroom before I go. Now everyone is gone from the event except what I thought would be the person in charge. No biggie, I find the restroom, USE the restroom, and as I am sitting there everything goes black! I mean EVERTHING!! I couldn’t even see the hand in front of my face let alone anything else in there. Good thing I know where everything else is. So I quickly get myself together and figure out how to open the stall door, remember now, I can’t see A THING ! I have no idea where the entrance is. I walk toward what I think is the door keeping my hands out in front of me so as not to bump into the wall. I did find the wall—not the door !I do this for what seemed like forever and I am really getting panicky now. So I start calling for help. “Hello!” I yell. “Hello?” NOTHING. After a little while I think I come to what is the door, I think I’ve already wiped my way across the entire wall and now I think I have the door.... LOCKED! So again I yell, “Hello?” NOTHING. I was trying very hard to keep my composure and try to figure out what I was going to do. I kept calling out “Hello....Hello...” finally, after some time, someone opened the door. I was then a little shaken up, a little emotional, but quite relieved. It was the janitor, as they called them then. I was so happy to see him I gave him a big hug. He thought everyone was gone and he was locking up. Then he noticed my equipment by the loading door. When he didn’t see me for a bit he started walking around.
BUSINESS TIP: So imagine what it is like to be completely in the dark about something. Where is your business going? How do you get out from under or from what seems to be darkness. Let this teach us to learn how to ask for help. Someone came to let me out of the dark. Someone will come for you too. If your heart is in the right place and you know what you want to accomplish, help will find it’s way to you ! When it comes, embrace it.
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Flush #3
“Wow... you gotta see the restroom” So as I previously stated, my whole family had this fascination with the restroom. ( well maybe it was just me and I thought it was my whole family) Don’t you know when you go into a fancy place or a new place or even a place being renovated.... the first thing everyone says is, “You gotta see the restroom !” So here we are at a nice fancy restaurant on the water in Florida. My family and some friends were out for a nice dinner. I go to the restroom and something is weird in my stall. So I exit that stall and go into another one.... same weird. Couldn’t figure it out. I just knew that something around the toilet seat was strange, like they were working in there and didn’t want to get anything on the seats. I wasn’t sure if we were able to use these toilets so I go back to my seat and whisper to my Mom about the toilet seats. She begins to tell me what they are so I go back into the restroom intrigued. The seats, had a plastic covering around them. Apparently, you used this as a seat protector. When you are done you press this little green button and the plastic rotates around into the wall area or some area behind the seats and a new plastic sheath is around the entire top of the toilet. Of course, now we are telling everyone with us, “You gotta see the restroom !”. I think in the next 10 minutes or so we had all the women in our group going into the restroom and hitting the green button just to see the plastic roll away out of site and a new plastic come out to protect the toilet seat.
BUSINESS TIP: Let this be a lesson in the fact that you never know where innovation is going to surprise you. You may have the craziest idea, and be able to test it in a great space or a great place . You may be stuck with an idea and not know what to do next with it. You may be just stuck in a rut with your business. Be patient for that bit of innovation you need may come in the most unlikely place. Page 12
Flush #4
“What’s that you say?” So here I am at my very first Women Business Owner conference. In and out of the restroom is quite common with hundreds of women , (and some men) , in attendance. I’ve seen these things happen before but I can’t say that I ever remember this particular happening – happen to me. I’m rushing in the restroom for I don’t want to miss any of the amazing things I’m experiencing at the conference. I’m at the sink washing my hands and I hear.... “you need to fix that...” Of course, I’m not paying a bit of attention. I just happen to hear that in the back of my mind. Again, I hear it, “ You really need to fix that.” …..yet I still don’t really hear it. I am just about to walk out of restroom when it gets said a little louder, “ I think you need to fix that?” I’m thinking, “ What’s that you say?” and then out loud I finally say, “ Oh, you are talking to me? “ Here I am ignoring the words I’m hearing when my beautiful silky skirt is tucked into my pantyhose in the back, and I am just ready to walk back out the door. Well we all got a laugh out of that and the woman nearby me said I was ready to give my own show. I’m sure you have seen or heard stories about this one. Really quite interesting when it happens to YOU !!! I was fortunate enough to be in a place with a lot of people and with someone who took the time to tell me three times before I got that it was me ! Of course, the whole rest of the day I was checking my backside in the mirror after each restroom visit ! Hahahaha . Just crazy when that happens. My skirt must have just been in the right frame, so to say, to get stuck for it did happen again that day but I was able to catch it myself.
BUSINESS TIP: Something my Dad always taught me.... learn by your mistakes. Hopefully you won’t make the same mistake too often and that it’s not so terrible that a little adjustment can’t fix it. Learn to listen. (and keep in mind that I did say the woman had to speak to me 3 times) People may be telling you just what you need to hear and you are not paying attention. Those words of advice could save you from something you don’t need to be a part of. Page 13
Flush #5
“O.P.P. ... Other people’s property...” So here I am in what was known as “Annie Sez”. I was out doing one of my favorite things, Shopping! Of course, I get to the point where the restroom becomes a necessity. So I walk into the ladies room and it’s the darnedest thing....it’s all covered with graffiti! Not the normal graffiti that you would think of, it’s covered in toilet paper!!! There was toilet paper draped everywhere. I really had to use the restroom so I just had to deal with it. I get into the stall and the toilet paper is not on the roller. (SHOCKER!). It is, however, sitting alone on top Page 14
of the roller. So I do what I have to do in the restroom stall, yet I have no place to put the toilet paper after I pulled off what I needed. I couldn’t set it back on the spot that I found it on for it kept falling. What the heck did I do to deserve that! So I had placed my purse on the floor right next to me and for a brief moment I threw the rest of the toilet paper roll into my purse. At least it got it out of the way for a few minutes. Remember now, I’ve already pulled off what I needed; the roll wouldn’t sit back where it was and everything else was covered in toilet paper draping! So after I’m done, (and done laughing too), I left the restroom and continued my shopping. When I got to the register to pay for what I was picking up, I opened my purse and I noticed the rest of the toilet paper roll. I did not even bother to take it out, explain, or go into anything. You see the store was quite busy. The people at the register were not the most patient people around at that particular time and I was just SURE they would not find any humor in the toilet paper roll in my purse. So I just moved it aside in my purse, paid for my items and left the store. I can just imagine those employee faces when they get to the rest room, find the place decorated in toilet paper and yet they will have no toilet paper available.......... as it “has left the building”... in my purse.
BUSINESS TIP: Use this as a reminder not to get so distracted in your business that you don’t have any regard for “Other people’s Property” and what it may do if you mishandle it. As small as that property may be, it may be an essential part of your client’s concern, business future, or some other important element. You may get into a situation where you don’t know what to do once you have taken advantage....even if it was by accident. Learn how to stay focused on your task. Don’t let distractions lead you into another direction. If that is the case, take a moment and enjoy the distraction! You can even focus on the distraction. When you are done, get back on track. Focus on your project and regard the O.P.P. (Other People’s Property) No matter how small that may seem.
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Flush # 6
“Everything in 3’s and let’s scratch each other’s back!” This is a combination of 2 short experiences so let’s combine them and see how they can relate to your business life-- together! First, I was in the restroom at a conference and on the way out, I stopped to scratch my back along the wall. Why is it that it seems like we only do that when we get older? I used to watch my grandmother do that in the door jams all the time. I was so used to it that it didn’t seem to be anything “Un-Normal.” I guess I just never had to do that until recently. Or maybe, I just never noticed that I was doing it before. Hahaha.... So I leaned against the wall of the door jam with my back and oh that felt so good! Another lady stopped me and said, “I’ve never seen anyone do that? What is that?” I just called it scratching my back. I told her about my grandmother and we both got a good laugh. I guess my Grandmother is watching over me, encouraging me as I move forward. Find that encouragement in YOUR life to take you to that next level. See if it happens while you are in the restroom. I dated a guy in college that said all of our important business decisions should be done while we are all sitting on the toilet. He would tell me, “Imagine that the President of the United States and all the negotiators were sitting on the toilet when they talked things out!” He thought it would definitely be a more TRUTHFUL meeting and a lot more would get accomplished. I wonder....... Now I’m in the restroom, same conference different time..... I go to wash my hands and the funniest thing happened. I got soap from the dispenser and no water from the sink. I always feel like I’m in a candid camera skit with these motion censored things. Especially in the restrooms.... toilets flushing by themselves, waving at machines to get paper towels and putting hands under the faucets of the sinks with nothing happening. I love when the toilet flushes by itself...... even better when you are not finished yet. It sometime even flushes before you get started.... So back to the soap.... I’m standing there with soap in my hands and no water at the sink. I move to the next sink, NO WATER. I move to the next sink, NO WATER. I had to move to 3 different sinks before I could get the water to come out. What a crock! (There’s that number 3 again, too) Page 16
BUSINESS TIP: Let’s see how this is a business lesson.... first of all, be persistent in everything you do. When you don’t give up and you stay focused you will get the result you seek. Remember to SEEK that result, or have a specific goal. My goal, at the time, was to find a sink with the water ….. Have that specific goal in mind and don’t give up. Remember that things often happen in 3’s. You should reach out to a prospective client or customer 3 times. Be prepared to look and listen for the opportunity to have the “3” method working for you. (3 sinks until I got the water to come out) Notice how many of the stories relate to that weird phenomenon of things happening in 3’s. If you remember nothing else, remember to build solid relationships and rapport with everyone you want to be in your life. This goes for both business and personal goals and interests. Building alliances are “Key” to moving forward.... and never forget to “Scratch each other’s back!”
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Flush #7
“...Roll with it...” So here I am out to dinner with a bunch of friends. We wind up at this quaint little restaurant. I knew some of the people there and some were friends of friends that I had just met for the first time. I excuse myself from the table to use the restroom. Now mind you, I never expect these things to happen. I think that if I were waiting for something to happen in the restroom—nothing would. Well, nothing unusual anyway! So I ‘m in the stall thinking about it. Funny, I usually don’t think about it but I must have come off of another strange experience in the restroom for I remember thinking, “nothing is going to happen here tonight.” That was a good thing. I did not want to share any restroom stories over dinner with people I had just met. Well, well, well.... I reach for the roll of toilet paper and not only does it break off the holder it goes rolling all the way out the door and just up to the entrance .Naturally, there is no other roll in there, and there is no one else in the small restroom. Now this restroom doesn’t have any outer prep area, no fancy hallway or anything like that. In fact, I was laughing so hard that I was hoping no one outside actually eating heard me!!! All I could do was to try to reach down and find the end of the roll and roll the paper back up. Of course, when I do that, it just keeps rolling out. Needless to say, I was finally able to get it together and compose myself enough to go back to my seat. I can’t even explain how I felt when I got to my seat. When I think back on this experience, I always think of the song, “On top of spaghetti.”...meatball rolling out into the garden etc... just like my roll of toilet paper.
BUSINESS TIP: There will always be a time when you have to “Roll with it.” Roll with the punches, as they say. The one I like better is “Now you are on a roll.” You can see how in those 3 quotes, “Roll with it” can go either way... Rolling with the punches—comes from something negative that we can turn into a positive and “Now you are on a roll” is just a positive statement to keep you moving forward. Either way, you deal with the things that set you back as well as the things that push you forward. Take everything in stride and again, stay focused. I say, Follow your heart and “Roll with it!” Page 18
Flush #8
“Fshwoooo....” Now remember the title to this one for when we get to it, you need to have it down to get the idea. Say it fast, and if you can – even use that little hand gesture of closing all you fingers together and then pulling back and down. If you want to practice, go ahead, I’ll wait....... remember to say the word when you do the hand movement too.... always helps ! So this story takes place in the casino. If nothing else, the stories that are related to the casino industry are incredible. I would say, ALMOST as much fun as the others. Well, maybe not. The other ones were lived out by me so they would definitely be more interesting from MY viewpoint. Nonetheless, I have a few great stories from other places in other spaces. Well, in the restroom, just other stories as they were told to me. On this night I get the story from a friend . A player ,who has just had a little too much to drink, returns from the restroom. I am guessing on a scale of 1- 10 with one being the most sober and 10 being- lying somewhere on the floor, he would be around a 4 or 5, nothing too crazy. So he returns from the restroom with this great story. After he was done, he decided he would count his money before he got back onto the casino floor. I guess he was taking advice from that popular line in a song, “....you never count your money when you are sittin’ at the table.” So he’s counting his money in the restroom. He tells us that he dropped about 100.00 in paper money into the urinal. Funny thing is they work on a motion-sensor. (we discussed how much fun THEY can be in a previous story) Now here it comes......wait for it..... All of a sudden, “Fshwoooo”!!!! , and away it goes...... Nothing like coming to the casino and really pissing your money away.
BUSINESS TIP: Sometimes we have to take a risk. We have to try new things or we will never know if they work or not. Sometimes they will work, and sometimes it’s like throwing money down the drain. We can always learn from these experiences. Take a risk. Go out on a limb, after all, that is where the fruit is.
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Flush #9
“At the breaking point ” So this time I am in my bathroom at home. I usually don’t have many exciting things happen in the restroom at home yet every once in awhile a good one comes along. The snowball of the stories come from experiences public restrooms. I guess the stories or the ideas of the stories are just contagious ! Here I am, just stepping out of the shower, doing pretty much the same routine. I’m combing my hair wet, then I usually put some mousse into it and scrunch it all up. Easy- peazy ! So I’m combing my hair with this long , large, plastic comb. It has an amber color to it and I just love it because the natural swirls in it remind me of the animal print I love so much. Now this is not a very fancy comb. Just a comb I’ve had for a long time and really liked. My Mom had the same comb too. Funny...... So I’m just about done combing my hair and I get a little snag at the end of my head. This is probably a little knot in my hair. No big deal, just have to separate the knot or comb through it. This had happened many times in the past. This time, the comb didn’t like it. After all these years using this same comb.... the comb breaks in my hand, the tooth of the comb comes out and the comb crashes to the floor. Well, the comb stayed in one piece except that it was now missing a tooth. ( kind of reminds me of being a kid with your front teeth missing) I couldn’t believe it. How many years have I had that comb, had just a little knot in my hair and no problem at all. This comb wasn’t old and worn. This was a solid large , thick, plastic comb. So now the comb is in the trash.
BUSINESS TIP: You never know when something or someone is going to be at their breaking point. The idea is how do you react in that situation? How do you handle it when something goes wrong that is usually happening with a breeze? How we react to things that happen to us, is what makes us stronger, more resilient and better at what we do. So take a breath when it doesn’t always go as planned. You know they say that if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. We still have to plan, and do the best that we can. I believe we work WITH the guidance from above. That guidance takes us to exactly where we need to be. We just have to learn to trust in that. The breath you take, will let you calm down, assess your situation and react in a more positive manner, even when you are at a breaking point. Page 20
Flush #10
“So what are you waiting for?” This time the experience was a little painful. Several years ago I injured my right knee. (on the side of the bend...very difficult to pinpoint) After 2 rounds of therapy and a visit to a very good doctor, it was determined that no surgery was needed. In the meantime, thankful as I was, I still felt like I was 90 years old. Wait, I know some 90 year old’s that could move better than I could at that time ! Once I got to walking it was ok, however stairs , sitting and standing were a whole ‘nother story ! Funny, I injured this knee doing the tiniest little maneuver and just did something to it. I am thankful to this day that it wasn’t worse . How do you think I managed when I had to use the restroom? So here I am in the restroom on a break from a job at the time. I have limited time. Well, not thinking, I just go ahead and use the restroom as usual. No one else around, and I can’t get myself up off the toilet .I’m thinking, “What are you waiting for, just get up !” No handrail, nothing to grab onto etc.... It was the weirdest feeling not being able to stand up. My brain was saying get up but my knee just wouldn’t let me. So what do I do? I bust out laughing. Mind you this laughter was causing tears of pain and tears of just.... laughter. I can not even remember how I got myself up . I had absolutely no strength in my knee at all. Can you relate? I think it was a combination of a wiggle thing and a real determination with weight placed on my good knee that finally got me up. I had to avoid the bathroom for the rest of the evening. Luckily I was able to do that.
BUSINESS TIP: The struggles we face in our life and in our business are very real. When we focus on those struggles is when we focus on disaster. When we focus on finding a way to climb up, climb out and be strong, we find we are able to do just that. This may come with a maneuver or two. It may come with some hard choices, but staying focused on getting up and getting through, will get you where you need to be to move forward. A lesson could be learned in trying to avoid the thing that took you to that struggle in the first place. Regardless, focusing on the positive is far better than dwelling on what has you stuck.
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Flush #11
“I have just one question for you...” So this is another family story, but boy how we loved telling this one. Before I get into the just of this one, let me preface this by talking just briefly about my Dad. My Dad, Eddie, was a brilliant man. I always felt he was ahead of his time in a lot of things. He just knew how to think outside the box, one of the things I loved best about him. The problem we ran into on many occasions is that his temper would get in the way of all that. Funny how he would get so mad that it could make you shake in your boots. Five minutes later, it was all forgotten. When a lot of things happened at once, his blood would begin to boil and you could start seeing the “vein” transformation. Page 22
On this particular day things weren’t going as smoothly as planned. Dad had a Department store at the Shore and he would field problems and situations all day long. He also rented out 2 apartments next door to ours which were about 2 miles away from the store. Going back to the day before, one of the tenants in one of the apartments complained about a problem in the bathroom upstairs. Now this was an old apartment building. It had one bathroom situated at the top of the stairs. Everything worked fine, well at least up to this point. It seemed as if the floor board around the toilet was getting soft and now starting to leak. My Dad was surprised that he wasn’t notified sooner but he asked the tenant to refrain from using the restroom until he could get someone over there to check it out. Then there’s Allan. (We are going to use Allan in place of the real name) Allan was the kind of “go-to -guy” for the store. He really ran the Mens’ clothing area but he also was sort of an assistant for my Dad when he needed him. Again, my Dad wasn’t always the most patient person to deal with. So my Dad gets a phone call from one of the tenants in the apartment. They forgot about his asking them to refrain from using the toilet and they needed someone there right away. Well, I don’t know what transpired after that brief conversation but I do remember that Allan was sent over to the apartment to check out what the problem was. About 20 min. later my Dad gets a phone call from Allan and all he says is this....” I have just one question for you” Of course, my Dad’s patience is wearing quite thin at this point. “Allan,” he yelled. “ Just tell me what the problem is !!! I don’t have time for this today, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM ?” So Allan continued with his question to my Dad..... “I just need to know – Do I pull him up from the top or down from the bottom?” I guess that got my Dad’s pressure down for a brief moment. He busted out laughing before we could get to the solution. The poor tenant, if you haven’t guessed already, fell through the floorboard and was stuck as they say between floor one and floor two. Go figure. We used to tell that story a lot too.
BUSINESS TIP : There are going to be times when you don’t know which way to turn. You may not have the time on your hands to figure out which turn will be better. Instinct will serve you best here . Follow your heart and make the best decision you can in the time that you have. It may not always be the right one, but if you truly follow your gut instinct, most of the time it WILL be. By the way, the tenant was pulled up and he was perfectly fine.
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Flush #12
“Whoooa !!” This time I am visiting a relative’s apartment. Inside, there was a downstairs bathroom that was under construction. I think it was an added restroom in the apartment. It was fine to use but picture it in a raw state. Just a toilet, walls bare, ply-board around, cords around for lighting, wooden slats on the floor , small roll of toilet paper just sitting on the sink etc... So here I am sitting on the “throne” and I see this cord.... it was plugged into the socket but not quite all the way..... yes, you can guess that I decided to push it in. Of course, why not, I had nothing better to do...... “WHOOOA !!!” You guessed it again, I got the last bit of electric shock that was around that day. Well, it wasn’t enough to cause any damage (at least I don’t think it did—who knows ? ) however, it was enough to make me know that I didn’t want that to happen again. I didn’t use that restroom again anytime I visited there until it was completed. I don’t even think I used it after it was completed.....
BUSINESS TIP: You can ALWAYS be shocked ! There isn’t a time in your business life or your personal life that you have truly seen everything. Something can always come along that will make you say , “Whoooa”. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is a bad thing. It could be shockingly good. Either way, you need to identify it as such, make a decision on how you would like to handle that situation or event and then proceed to get over it.
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Flush #13
“Where do I wave?...” On this day, I was out at a luncheon with a bunch of gals. We all used to work together at a local swim facility. It was great getting together . We had to have had a table of 20. We were at one of those long rectangle tables. This was at a nice country club . The décor was really cool. Dark wood, dim lighting, nice linen tableware etc... Naturally, I excuse myself to use the restroom. Now think back if you can on a time when ALL those motion-censored “things” in the restrooms just started becoming popular. I had never seen any of those at this particular time. So...... I’m done in the restroom, wash my hands and come to this thing that kind of looks like I’d get the paper towel out of it. I didn’t see any paper towel hanging out and I didn’t see any way to roll it out, squeeze it our or pump it out. What I did see was a sign painted onto the contraption that only said, “WAVE HERE”. Well where do I wave? I was standing in front of this thing I had never seen before, waving at it and laughing.... nothing happened. It was just craziness. I felt like I was on some T.V. show or something. I’m just waving and waving and nothing happened. I eventually had to use toilet paper to dry my hands. When I got back to the seat, I told my Sister, who was with us, about this. We then both had to go into the restroom again and figure it out. Of course, then it worked !
BUSINESS TIP: Things aren’t always what they seem. Make your own choices and decisions. Weigh out your information so you have it down correctly and can make an informed decision. You may have to go back and check the situation again. Do it. Find the answers you need to find before you decide on the next steps. Know that when YOU make your own decision, whether it is right or wrong it is YOUR decision and you can’t blame anyone else. Take your time and don’t listen to all that is buzzing around you when you need to think. Signs are important and sometimes are a way for something bigger than we are to talk to us.... but do the very best you can, be informed. Take charge of your own life and your own business. Page 25
Flush # 14
“Double standard what?” So here I am in college. I find out that a friend of mine from High School is at the same college and not far from where I was staying at the time. This is a large University so getting to know the campus was a little overwhelming. I finally find out where my friend is. She was residing in a place called the QUADS. So I search it out and proceed to go and visit her. I arrive at her Quad in the mid afternoon. I remember it was a hot day and a long walk . I was cool, calm and collected though. I have to now climb a flight of stairs to find her. I get up the stairs and staring me in the face are the restrooms. “Oh, good.”, I said. So I enter the restroom. (Didn’t we all grow up with the same idea that the Women’s rooms were pink and the Men’s rooms were blue?) Maybe you can already see where this is going..... I walk into the restroom and feel immediate panic as the room is blue and I know for sure I’m in the Men’s room ! I quickly ran out of there to the other room and I open the door, walk in and to my surprise, it’s blue too !!! Where is the double standard we all grew up with? I know I hate that standard but it was always pink for the ladies, blue for the men..... Needless to say, I realized I was in the Men’s room in the second door and ran back to the original blue room that was meant for us gals. At least I got away with no embarrassment, except to myself.
My friend, however, was not there and I never did get to see her on campus.
BUSINESS TIP: Try not to second guess yourself all the time. Usually your first instinct is the right one or at least a good one. Don’t let circumstances around you sway you from your original choices. Stand up for your choices and trust that you know what you are doing. Remember that nothing works out 100 % of the time. This means that you may have every good intention, go with that gut instinct and still make a wrong choice. That’s normal. That’s part of the growing process. What you DON’T want to do is constantly re-think and re-guess every move you make. That is also a big waste of time. (Especially when you find out in MOST instances, you were right the first time.) Page 26
Flush # 15
“You just suck the life out of me!” So this time I am the disc jockey at a wonderful outside event. This was a private party thrown at someone’s private home. A lot of people in attendance. The family set up an outside restroom or “out-house” if you may for the guests. Usually in these settings, I am entitled to use the restroom inside the home. ( I’ve done these types of deals over and over). This particular time, I was asked to use the outside stall, like everyone else. Ok... no problem. It comes time for the restroom break and all I want to do is get in and out of this “out-house” quickly and back to my set up. It was very dark outside by this time. The party was under way. The “out-house” or outside restroom was set up on sort of a little hill. No.... this time it didn’t fall down the hill or anything like that ! There was one little light in there so you could see but it was fuzzy. I go into the room and as I am finished I reach for the toilet paper and there on the toilet paper roller is what appeared to be a LEACH ! I wasn’t quite sure, but all I had seen of them or heard about them made it apparent that, yes, that’s what this was. There was NO WAY I was going anywhere near that toilet paper.....
I had to spend a little more time in the “out-house” than I wanted to for I had no toilet paper to use.... I couldn’t wait to get back to my table. I was really freaked out !
BUSINESS TIP: Sometimes we will come across things we don’t want to deal with. In this case, I am speaking of “people”. There will be people, as you make your climb, that just SUCK THE LIFE OUT OF YOU ! They are negative and they make you doubt your every move. They could also be stuck in the “complaining circle”. As you know, that just keeps going around and around.... You need to get away from these people. Sometimes that’s not the easiest thing to do. Give yourself permission to be successful, to go forward and to let your light shine. Love these people but keep them far away from you and don’t let them suck the life out of you ! You can do this. It may take a little practice but you CAN do it. Just put up that shield and keep the negative nelly’s away from you ! Page 27
Flush #16
“OK. How do I get out?...” So here I am in the restroom stall at one of my jobs. There are lots of employees in this big building and this is the main restroom for the employees. I'm fairly new at this job, must have been there about a week. I get into the restroom stall and when I'm finished, I can't get out ! Did you ever have that happen when you have those funny little closures on the doors and they kind of have a domino effect? If you lock your door, the one next to you doesn't lock and so on.... Well that wasn't quite the case here. My door was closed and locked and I could not get it open no matter what I did. I waited for a few moments, tried again , and nothing. Still stuck in the stall. Funny, I can't remember if anyone else came in or out during that time. I'm kind of thinking if there WAS anyone else in there that – A: they wouldn't be able to get me out from that side.... and B: What would they be thinking if I told them I was stuck? So what do you think I did? You got it, I pulled my outfit together and climbed under the door. I do not remember seeing anyone in there when I did that. Whew !! Maybe that was some kind of sign that I would be stuck in that place for a long time ! Well, I do believe everything happens for a reason. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what that reason is. I have learned to just trust, and go with the flow.
BUSINESS TIP: Never, ever be afraid to ask for help. Most people are eager to help someone in need if they can. I know a lot of people out there don't like to ask for help. It's important that we all get over that. When you need help, you need to ask for it. Also, Never let other people's opinions get to you. You must always remember that these are only other people's opinions of you. They are not you ! This is something a lot of people need to work on. It's a practice thing too. Be yourself. Someone will love you when you are yourself and not pretending to be someone else. Someone will do business with you when you are yourself and are comfortable with who you are. Be yourself, and when you get stuck, do what you have to do to get out and move forward. Page 28
Flush # 17
“The Testimonial...” So here I am at a convention in Florida. This is a time that I dabbled in direct sales. I still do from time to time. I love the whole concept and the different marketing plans out there. (truly something for everyone). I love a company that has a great product and this was at the beginning when I was just learning that. Of course, hundreds if not thousands of people were at this convention all in and out of the restroom at various times. I always found it funny that since it was mainly a Women’s company, that they would put a sign over many of the restrooms that were marked MEN and have extra space for the women. This particular time, I headed toward the restroom and when I got there, 3 or 4 Women were gathered around the sink with one of our new products. It was a pitcher that claimed to have a very tight seal so if you turned it upside down, it wouldn’t leak. Well, I was just a passer-by and a “NEWBIE” at that so I just kind of walked a little slower so I could observe. They had a pitcher from one of the company’s competitors too. They were actually testing the product right there in the restroom, hands on. I not only found it intriguing but astonishing and of course, funny, when 2 pitchers were turned upside down and the one from OUR company help up. The one from the other company broke open and a waterfall came down into the sink splashing up and over and creating a company testimonial. (Never mind a great story from the restroom !)
BUSINESS TIP: Know your product or service. Know it inside and out so that if you are put to the test, you pass that test with flying colors. Only you can make or break your own product or service. Yes, there is always room for fixing, tweaking, growing and making a BETTER product or service available. Know that and own that. You never know who is in the restroom testing the thing you preach about.
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Flush # 18
“...might as well make the most of it...” This experience has to do with a memory of my father. You will see from these stories that my father was a very funny guy for the most part. He would laugh at all the crazy things that would happen to him and those moments would often put him at the center of attention. Of course, he was a Sagittarius When my father got older , he suffered from several strokes. He came out of them, thankfully, at the time but he wound up having to use a cane to get around and he didn’t like that at all. He did it though. He was a portly man and clumsy could have been his middle name. So I have my Mom and Dad visiting my tiny little apartment one Summer. My Dad wasn’t getting around so well these days . He really tried to remain very independent. He Page 30
used his cane, but would sneak times away from it. I would often walk in and find the cane in the middle of the floor standing alone. ( it was one of those canes with 3 small feet at the bottom so it would stand quite nicely on it’s own. Better than my Father at times) He just had very little strength in maneuvering his body. Well this particular time, I come in and the cane is standing in the hallway near the bathroom door, by itself. I see the light coming from the bathroom and the door open and I finally say, “Dad?”. All I hear is laughter. Amazing! So I get to the door and slowly peak in . I find my father on the floor, leaning up against the bath-tub. His legs are spread Eagle...don’t get nervous all his clothes were on.... in between he had a closed container and on top of the container was a cup of coffee! He just looked up at me and said, “Hello!” with that cute little smirk of a smile he did so well. He said, “I figured I’d just make the most of it. Someone will pick me up later.” So I come to find out that he was washing his hands at the sink and fell. Of course he did, his cane was in the hallway!. My Mom, was now gone and at work. ( she worked on the boardwalk when they came to visit me for the Summer) Well, she couldn’t get my Dad off the floor by herself. He kept insisting that he was fine, to leave him there and to bring him coffee. That was all he needed, he said. So that’s what she did. We finally had to get some neighbors to come and help get my Dad off the floor. Given his weight, his balance issues and the small space, I must say that whole ordeal alone was also quite funny. The expressions on our neighbors faces could tell it all. Thank goodness we were able to laugh about it. I still have a picture of my Dad on the floor in the bathroom with a cup of coffee on a container just waiting....
BUSINESS TIP: Accidents will happen. Let’s keep hope that they are few and far between AND that they are something we can look back on and laugh about. Make the best out of situations you have no control over. Do what you can until you either get help or figure out a way to fix the problem yourself. Do not let these set backs stop you in your quest . Everyone , no matter where they are in life, has fear, doubt, accidents that happen that can be fixed in some way. The difference is that successful people don’t let these things stop them.
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Flush # 19
“Do I pass it along or what?” So here I am at lunch with my Sister. Our lunches together are awesome for it’s few and far between that we get to see each other given both or our demanding schedules. So this day, after lunch, we visit the restroom together on the way out. Naturally, I get the stall that is not quite out of paper yet. I go to get some and it gives me one little long strip of nothingness !! I go to look and it’s pretty much done. Nothing coming off that baby ! Well, I think, this is fine because my Sister is in the stall right next to me and she will hand me paper. ( Women do this you know, just for clarification guys !). So I ask her, “ Hey , can you hand me some paper, I’m totally out?” “Sure”, she says. Just then, a big wad of paper come flying across the floor. Well that’s a first. I don’t think I have EVER had anyone just throw it across the floor. They always reach under ! I said thanks for just throwing it over to me. So she replies that she’s 4 feet from the wall, whatever that means..... So now I pick up this big wad of paper and have to decide which part I’m going to actually use. What a crock ! Has this ever happened to you? I’m still laughing over that one.
BUSINESS TIP: It doesn’t always go your way. You may try and try and people are going to constantly push their own agenda into your face. Now it becomes your turn to pick and choose what you want to do and who you want to deal with. Learn to build up that shield in front of you. It not only blocks out the negativity but it blocks out all the “stuff “ that will be thrown at you to look at. You and only You can then decide what to use and what to throw away.
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Flush # 20
“What WILL they think of next?” So here I am in the restroom of a local food store. On this particular day I was so happy to be there because they re-did the restrooms. The restrooms used to be in a bit of dis-array if you may. Paper towels were always on the floor, sinks were always dripping and it just always seemed to have a cold feeling in there. Now, the restrooms were a bit nicer, cleaner and inviting. Yay ! So I get into the stall and I notice that the old toilet seat covers are on the wall and they are empty. No one is in the restroom so I go into the other stalls and look, they all had the old seat cover holders in them, and they were all empty. Ok. Guess I was just curious. I come to the sink, I wash my hands and in place of the old paper towel holder is one of those new “air dryers”. This one is different than the ones I have recently seen. This one is almost like its own little stall for your hands. I has a long shape and is closed at the bottom. The top is open with 2 kind of portals , one for each hand. When you put your hands in – the air dryer is so strong that your hands are dry in a matter of seconds. I have never seen one like that before or since as a matter of fact. Let’s see if THAT will be one of the new restroom trends in air-dryers.
BUSINESS TIP: Pick and choose what you are going to invest in. No matter what stage your business is in, you need to invest wisely, or as wisely as you can. Try not to leave out things that are working, to put new things in place that are a TEST. ( no seat covers in any stalls, all stalls had empty seat cover holders, new and improved air-dryer available) So you need to remember to do your research. Test marketing is essential. It’s a good thing. Your research will tell you what the best way is to go about the new install, the new equipment, the new program etc..... I think the test market for these air-dryers was a good one. I just feel that some of the old standards of cleanliness were neglected in a new remodel . Keep that in mind when doing your own test marketing.
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Flush # 21
“Are you a member of the turtle club?” So I’m really little at the time, 9 or 10 if I can remember correctly. Can you think back about the turtles? I’m sure many of us can relate to having the little pet turtles. I remember even picking out the fish bowl....or turtle bowl if you may. Now I don’t think we are allowed to have those as pets anymore. They were really fun pets to have. I would come home from school and actually take the little “guy” out and play with it. I used to run my finger across its feet and feel the little tiny toenails that they used to walk with. One night, we had the turtle out on the table. Now my Mom had this big round table that was kind of a white pearlized acrylic. It had flecks running all through it so it looked like shiny marble. So we have the turtle out on the table playing with it and all of a sudden it runs across the table. It was fast...... for a turtle..... It went so fast, we couldn’t get it before it fell off the table - went down the long hallway, past the restroom and out into the living room. So we all ran after the turtle..... couldn’t find it. Page 34
Maybe it was the fact that my Mom had a dark purple rug in the living room. We finally found the turtle under the couch. It was so hard to find with that dark carpet background. We had so much fun playing with that turtle. One day, I came home from school and the turtle wasn’t in the bowl. I guess I knew that it couldn’t get out by itself but remember I was only about 9 or 10 so I began looking around for the turtle. Just then, my Grandma comes out of the restroom and says, I had to flush the turtle. “What do you mean?”, I said. She said , “It wasn’t moving so I flushed it down the toilet.........” Ever since then, I have had situations with turtles in my life. Not on an every day basis but just strange circumstances around turtles. So one day, someone asked me, in front of my Mom, “ Are you member of the turtle club?” Well this is a secret club you know...... it doesn’t meet, has no bylaws or rules so to say, it’s just a secret club. I didn’t know anything about this so my answer was , “ NO, I am not a member of the turtle club.” Well I am now. My Mom told me the answer which of course then makes you a member! The secret to being a member is to know what to say when someone asks you if you are a member. There is one and only ONE answer to that question. To this day, I have met 3 people who knew the answer. (There’s that number 3 again....) Do you know the answer?
BUSINESS TIP: Be prepared to have questions thrown at you to test you. People want to know if you know what you are talking about. Most of the time, you should know the right answers. I use something my Father taught me when I don’t know an answer to a question. That is to make sure you ALWAYS include the fact that you will find out the answer and get back to that person. When you say that, you have to DO that. Find the answer and get back to them. This builds your credibility. This gives you an opportunity to reach out to that person again and show them that you truly cared about their concern. I give you permission to contact me if you want to be in the turtle club. I still remember being sad when Grandma flushed my pet down the toilet. My Mom got me another turtle. It was all good !
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Flush #28
“You want me to fit that where?” It just amazes me how some of these “Restroom Designers” actually think these things work in reality. Maybe they work on paper.... jury still out on that one.... So this time I am leaving a meeting at one of the local casinos. I stop to use the restroom on the way out and this is what happened this day..... I step into the stall with my purse on my left arm and IN my arms I’m carrying my meeting folder and a HOT OFF THE PRESS, Foxx Code Magazine. Now if you know Foxx Code, these magazines are thick, high end, and worth hanging on to. So I have no where to put my folder and or my magazine. There is no hook on back of the door for my purse. There is, however, a plastic purse holder in the back corner of the stall. Now mind you I’m not carrying a tiny little evening purse, but I’m also not carrying a suitcase purse. (Bless the person who takes that in THIS stall). I figure out that my folder is tall enough to lean from the floor to the top of the wall without falling through the opening to the other stall. I gently lean it there, of course all the while needing to use the restroom. I then lean my brand new Foxx Code issue in front of that. Ok, one problem solved. I attempt to fit my purse into what???? That tiny little plastic holder that is mounted into the corner of the stall. I felt like the next great baker kneading dough to try to mush my purse, AND it’s contents into this Page 36
plastic holder. Not happening! Well, let’s say I got it almost halfway in which was good enough for it not to fall into the toilet. (although stranger things have happened so I wasn’t quite sure it was over....) Just as I thought, nooooooo it didn’t fall into the toilet, but it wasn’t quite over yet. Just as I let go of the teetering purse in the plastic holder, I must have tripped the motion sensor for the toilet flushed! This is a looooong flush. It just kept swirling and swirling for what seemed like ever. Finally, it stopped. As I am now laughing, I finally get to use the stall after all that time. Luckily my bag and the folder and magazine stayed put for that. As soon as I was done and touched the bag, it came right out of the holder with a sigh of relief ! Ha ! You’d think it was over now. NOT.... I get to the sink. Remember the funny stories we spoke of earlier having us standing at sinks with no water? This is not that story. I get to THESE bank of sinks and one of the faucets is just running with water! Do I pick that one.... of course not. I try to find a dry spot away from the running faucet for all the STUFF! First, I run my hand right through a puddle on the sink. Yuk! I think I’ll wash that off when I go to the far side where it is dry. I turn on the faucet. No water..... So now I figure I’ll just leave my stuff and go to the sink that was running with water. Get there, stick hands under, water stops !!! What a crock !!! I finally wind up using that sink anyway. Must have been a relation to the toilet where the water went on for a long time but then finally stopped. I can’t believe I got out of there with my purse, my folder and my magazine in tact!
BUSINESS TIP: Just when you think you have seen and done it all, you will be surprised with something new. Don’t let these things that surprise you, in your business life, or get the better of you. (Or in your life in general) Once again, you have to learn to make the most of the situation you find yourself in. If something isn’t working, go back and rethink it, reorganize it and make it work better. You have the power to do that. Never let anyone tell you that you don’t. Surprises can pop up anywhere. Something that you think is working may be just fine for a length of time - then all of a sudden something comes along to make that situation better. What you think may have been good, may not have been good at all. You have to learn to keep your mind WAY open when you are starting your business. Even as you grow, things will grow and change with you. These things are not only put there to drive us crazy. They are put there to help us become better at what we do and how we operate.
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Flush #28
“Will it go round in circles?” So see if you can relate to this disaster. I had to go to a meeting on this particular day. Funny, I used to have a coffee mug that said, “Please God, not another meeting...” I used to think that was so funny. I really enjoy my meetings these days for I am meeting over something I absolutely love. I read an article in a magazine recently with a great quote from Ralph Lauren. He said in the article, “ I’ve been very successful doing what I love. I recommend you go that path.” So when you get to the business tip in this story.... keep all this in mind. On one particular day, I left a meeting and I really had to go to the restroom. “Agh!”, I said, “ I should have gone while I was in the meeting. Ok. I’ll go at the next stop.” I had a few errands to run. I got in the car and I headed to the next stop and realized that I am very low on gas. So I map out a route in my head to get to a gas station and to a restroom around the same time. I figured out one way and that one didn’t really work in my head. So I figured out another way and that one seemed to be better. So off I go....Along the way, I forget that I was supposed to stop at another place closer to where my meeting was. No problem, I can do that later or tomorrow. (Well later never came and tomorrow wound up costing me $105.00 in mistakes because I didn’t make that stop when I was supposed to and deal with it.) At the time, I was just concerned about getting gas and getting to the restroom. I worked it out so I had plenty of time before my next appointment. I decided to stop and fix a problem with my cell phone. It just so happens that the gas and the restroom are right nearby the cell phone shop. I go fix the cell phone problem first since it’s on the same side of the highway that I am on. I can then just cross over to the gas station AND rest room and be on my way heading back in the other direction. Now I’m already a little miffed as I forgot to make that one stop. I get into the cell phone place and there is a line. Not a real problem for me, just a little for my bladder. I finally get done and I swing across the highway to the gas station. I get the gas first and then park to go inside, pick up a little something and use the restroom. I walk around the counter to the restroom and it is completely blocked off. A big sign sits in front of it that says it is under repair and it is closed. I couldn’t believe it. What A Crock! So, I buy the little something. I leave for my next appointment and still no restroom. Now it’s been at least an hour. I finally get to the restroom at the next appointment and I am just disgusted. I have to say, in the tiny little restroom at this next place, I let it roll off my back and had a great appointment. That meeting got me extremely charged up again in a very positive way. Page 38
BUSINESS TIP: Your restroom stories, funny or not, can relate to all kinds of things in your life. With this story, keep in mind the things I mentioned at the top. No matter where you are in your business life, you can find yourself running around in circles and forgetting to do things that are important. You have to be able to pick up on these things. Things like this not only cause problems- they also cause stress. As you know, stress can cause a myriad of harmful things. Then you get the domino effect. These things trigger other things and before you know it you are sick. We all know that being sick is a set back to our normal routines, both personally and professionally. Learn the signs. One of those signs relates directly to the restroom! When you have to go. You go. Do not put it off and wait.( like I did- so I learned the hard way) That is where tension starts to build up. You start forgetting things. You start becoming more concerned about the restroom than the other things going on around you. Other signs include the “rushing theme.” Once you find yourself starting to rush the day – you are getting into that cycle of running around in circles. Again, you will become forgetful. In another story we talk about “Balance”. This is critical to your health and well being for all phases of your life. This doesn’t happen overnight. Read, listen to speakers, watch a fulfilling movie, and find the thing that resonates with our own rhythm. This takes practice. Remember, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Most importantly, do something that you LOVE to do. That passion alone will keep you young beyond your years and keep you excited about your business.
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Flush # 24
“I did that?.... Really?” So this time I’m home, minding my own business. It’s funny how the experiences in the public restrooms start transferring into my own home. Every time I see that commercial where the guy gets tossed the toilet paper and it singes off the side of his hair, I laugh. It amazes me when I think of all the crazy things that happen around the restroom. It’s sometime in the middle of the night and I get up in a half stupor to use the restroom. Can you relate to getting up in the middle of the night for the bathroom? I guess this time I was more in a stupor than I thought. Now when I get up in the night for the restroom, as you have heard before, I usually don’t put the light on. This time was no exception. I’m sitting in the dark. The next thing I remember is the light coming on and me almost jumping off the seat. Seems like Art put his hand into the doorway and flipped on the light. What the....? I come to find out that Art heard me snoring and rolled over to check it out, only to find me.... well, not there. He looked around.... I wasn’t on the floor.... I was in the bathroom sleeping on the toilet. Now there’s a place to get some rest. I wonder how you would fit the old phrase in, “Don’t wake them when they are sleepwalking.” So what do you call this? Sleepsitting? Sleep – snoring? ….or dare I say anything else. Can you remember when you fell asleep at the bus terminal, in the library, on a friend’s couch. How about the time you fell asleep in the middle of a movie. Even if the movie is good, you find yourself sleeping and waking up to see the credits. I hate when that happens. That is just a sign that you need to sleep. When your body needs food, it will tell you it is hungry. When your body needs sleep it will tell you it’s time for sleep. Just as we prepare to eat, we need to prepare to sleep. So I didn’t fall off the toilet. Just putting the light on got me awake enough to say, “I did that?....really? I went back to bed but had a great laugh the next day and another story to share with you. Page 40
BUSINESS TIP: This again comes back to having balance in your life. (Doesn’t everything seem to come back to that?) You have to find time to sleep. Sometimes you will have to get that sleep wherever you can. Sleep is the essence to getting things done. The energy to work out, to tackle the day, to go to work, to run your business, to take care of your house or your family. You need your sleep. Clearing your mind when you go to sleep at night is a good way to insure that you will rest well. If you have struggles or worries about your business, you may not sleep well and that can disrupt your whole next day. Your body repairs itself when it sleeps. Prepare it for sleep. Do some stretches, some deep breathing, some letting go of the day’s work. That work and whatever comes with it will still be there when you get up. So sleep, sleep well and make sure you get ready for sleep. Your business will thank you!
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Flush #25
“What – Is it rubbing off now?” So I come home from a meeting and the first thing my daughter needs to share with me is a restroom story! “What – is it rubbing off now?” She’s walking home from school today with a few friends. On the way, they have to stop at their old school to get a sister of one of the friends. My daughter, Brie, needs to use the restroom....Ok, great.... So she puts her school books on the little ledge between the toilet seat and the back of the toilet (where the handle is to flush). She even had to draw me a picture to show me exactly where she put her books. So you would think that you know what’s coming next, right? Not..... As she leans over to secure her books, her sunglasses that were hanging off her shirt are now swimming in the toilet. “Well”, I said, “at least the toilet was clean!”. “Yea, but that’s not all...”, she says.... “I reached over thinking my books were going to fall in too....” ( yea you knew that was coming somewhere right?) “....and I realized that they wouldn’t fall in because they were square and the toilet bowl was round, they were too big!” In the meantime, she was still a littl freaked out over the sunglasses so she had her friend take them to the sink and clean them. They were probably in cleaner water than we drink!
BUSINESS TIP: When you feel like you are that square peg in the round hole and you just can’t seem to find a place to fit in, remember to embrace change. No one seems to like change. Sometimes change is better than it was. There’s that saying, MORE PEOPLE ARE AFRAID OF THE UNKNOWN...EVEN IF THE UNKNOWN IS BETTER THAN WHAT THEY HAD. Learn to adapt, to change and to embrace that. Sometimes the tiniest little change will give you a whole new perspective. A whole new perspective automatically gives you energy and a renewed feeling. This is not to say that being different is a bad thing. We talked about doing things to make you stand out. ( well, if we didn’t ….we will....). This is about adapting to get your goals accomplished... Adapting to stay focused... Adapting to small bits of change for the better. Of course when you do this, you should never find your sunglasses swimming in the toilet! Page 42
Flush #33
“What’s that fly doing in my soup?....The backstroke?” So this time I am in a local restaurant with Art. We come to the end our our meal and it is Restroom time before we leave. I am in the stall and I run out of toilet paper in the middle of pulling it off the roller. “Great,” I said. I see another roll of paper inside one of those holders that are covered up above (or in some cases below or next to) the holder you are spinning from. In this case it was on top. It was kind of a black or dark plastic and I could see the toilet paper through it. I know that usually these things are just a nightmare to figure out. Am I going to need a rocket scientist to open up the other holder and get the roll of paper? Well not this time my friend. I just played around with the holder on the top hoping I could figure it out when it just came right open , slid down and locked into place. How cool is that? Why couldn’t they all be like that ? Just then, the craziest thing happened.... (no, it didn’t fall, snap back or disappear) A fly came rushing out of the holder.......... I’m sure I know what that fly was thinking..... Once again, I find myself in the restroom.........laughing........ In fact, I laughed my way all the way back to my table.
BUSINESS TIP: Some ideas are going to move faster than you have ever anticipated. (They will just fly away!) It is very common to be afraid of this very thing. You can find yourself thinking about the what if’s and the scary feeling of things happening before you are ready. This is all part of the process. Once you realize that, you will begin to see how the steps come together to make the dance. Many small business owners start with no staff and little or no capital. With that being said, there will be times when you hit all the right buttons and then you can’t keep up. If you know ahead of time that this is part of the process, you can expect it and work from that point. You can anticipate that some things are going to run away. Just let them. Let them run until you can catch them and you will have a feeling of pride that you accomplished this feat all on your own. Eventually, you WILL be able to get a handle on it. Whatever you do, DO NOT LET ANY FEAR STOP YOU FROM MOVING FORWARD. Sometimes the fear is a good thing and we just need to ride it out. Page 43
Flush #26
“ Laaady .” So this time I’m sitting at a diner with a very nice gentleman at a very important meeting. I excuse myself to use the restroom before our food arrives. Picture this restroom. You walk into a central door and it’s a small sort of railroad area. There is a long hallway left to right, doors along that hallway area. To the left is an employee door leading to the kitchen area. Just ahead of you, slightly to the left is the WOMEN’S ROOM and to the right of you facing the kitchen/employee door is the MEN’S ROOM. Needless to say it’s a tight area when you open that central door. So I open up that door and standing to the left in the employee/kitchen door area is a waitress. Standing right in front of me is a man, so I’m kind of stuck just at the entrance. The waitress is saying, as I walk in, “Well it’s empty now....” then she sees me and says, “well not anymore....” Page 44
So my first instinct was that there was something wrong with the Men’s room and this gentleman wanted to use the Women’s room.... so I said out loud, “ It’s okay, I can wait.” The man goes into the Women’s room. The waitress goes back into her door there and I’m just standing there waiting..... and waiting..... and waiting.... Oh, and you guessed it, waiting..... I finally decide to open the door slightly to the Women’s room and just check on the guy! I barely cracked open the door and said, “Hello?... will you be coming out soon?” The response I got was, “Laaady.... I’m in here checking for a leak!” Well, I’m sure that was not the reaction YOU thought I would get. Yea, I thought so, wasn’t mine either. So I said, “No problem, just wondering when you were coming out. I thought the men’s room was broken and you were using the women’s room.” He replied he would be out soon. So again, I wait..... and wait.... and wait..... I began to think what my very important meeting was doing while I spent all this time waiting in the restroom just to USE the restroom. So I yell out, “ Ok, I’m gonna come back in a minute,” thinking that this person who is fixing a leak really cared what I did. I go back to my seat laughing and telling the story to my meeting partner when I see the restroom door open. (I wasn’t far from it— just across the way of where I was sitting). Out comes this man looking around. When he caught my eye, he waved and smiled. I guess that was my clue. Funny, cause he never saw me at all. I guess because I was looking at him, he figured I was the one waiting. Quite interesting.
BUSINESS TIP: Don’t forget to keep checking the plumbing ! By this I mean we can just go along in our business and not look for the leaks, the cracks that could make or break the next big deal or maneuver. Check your tools. Check your staff. Check your inventory. Check your appearance. Check your timing....whatever it is that you do on a daily basis. You need to check it and check it often. This ensures that your are staying on top of everything you are doing and gives all the people that surround you the needed confidence that you are on top of your game.
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Flush # 27
“ A quick follow up” So here we are doing a quick follow up to Flush # 26. This has to do with the exploration of the “Railroad Restroom”. I used to live in what they call a “Railroad Apartment”. I think these are found in older buildings. I had a friend that lived in one too. It was really kind of cool. It was a long hallway with the bedrooms coming off of it. I used to love that long hallway. It resembles the long corridors of a train, hence the name RAILROAD. Now having a railroad apartment may be a fun thing, but having a railroad restroom, a whole different story. If you remember from Flush # 26 it was quite the tight area to walk in. Well here is a follow up..... It exists in a large chain of restaurants that are situated along route 95 south . Mostly in the States approaching Florida. We used to have fun going into these locations. That was until I found another place to call our Traveling Restaurant of choice. Anyway, at this particular location, I had to use the restroom. Go figure. You enter this one central door and this time the Railroad Restroom is straight down, front to back with the Women’s Room being the first door on the right and the Men’s room being the 2nd door on the right. Again this area is very tight. These are single stall restrooms so you are the only one in there. This time I have finished using the restroom. I go to open the door to leave and someone is coming in the main door. At the same time someone is coming out of the Men’s room too. Well, the main door and my door (of the Women’s room) cracked each other. The man coming out of the Men’s room couldn’t get out and neither could I. I had to close my door to let the incoming person in- let the man out and let all the doors RELAX so that I could get out. What a crock!
BUSINESS TIP: There is a great saying in moving yourself forward and following your dreams. That is “Get out of your own way”. Sometimes we tend to overthink, over analyze, and just hinder our potential by blocking our own creativity and natural ability to drive forward. This is quite literal when you visit a railroad restroom. The next time you do, maybe you can reflect on the lessons in your own life. Sometimes we just need to let go and get out of our own way. When you do that, you will see how clear the road and the path is in front of you.
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Flush #22
“I just had to laugh....” So here I am at the grocery store. I’ve been running all day and finally got a chance to stop for a few things. I only had one of those hand held baskets and my plan was to get in and out quickly. I pick up a couple of things but soon realize that I can not wait to make it home to use the restroom. I knew there were restrooms in the back of the store somewhere. I located them and found a nice spot outside of the restroom for my ½ filled basket. My thoughts are of quickly using the restroom and getting home. I get in the stall and I see they have no seat covers. Wow.... I thought, my mind was wandering on the whole restroom thing..... seat covers or no seat covers, paper towels or air-dryers, motion censored faucets or manual, toilet paper or not.... what a crock! Thought about even doing a survey on these things....Naahhhhh! So I quickly finish up in the stall, rush out of the restroom and right outside the stall, mounted on the wall are SEAT COVERS!..... I just had to laugh. I even continued laughing as I was washing my hands. I have never seen them outside the stalls. Just one little holder of seat covers outside the stall! If you are heading towards the stall, you can’t really see them. They just stare you in the face after you are finished.
BUSINESS TIP: Product placement is huge. Whether you have an actual product, a spot on a web page or an ad in the paper for a particular service you provide, you must think in terms of “product placement”. Remember that window decorators are hired for a reason. Web designers are hired for a reason. Banner ads are strategically placed for a reason. Ads on the right side of the paper are in demand for a reason. Your message or service appears in places at certain times for a reason. You don’t want your product or service being an afterthought. “Gee, I didn’t know that or see that until it was too late !”. Know your product placement no matter what it is you offer. Do your research and choose wisely. You’ll be glad you did.
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Flush #29
“You explain it any way you like” So this particular incident revolves around ghosts. Yep, I said it! Whatever you may believe is all your own so just keep an open mind when you read this one . However you decide to explain it is fine with me! As you know, this book is dedicated to my wonderful parents. My Mom was the one who started the whole idea about doing the crazy stories from the restrooms. My Dad followed suit. They also used to tell me the funniest and strangest stories about spirits, angels, weird feelings when they walked into rooms etc..... I loved the stories but I was always glad they didn’t happen to me.... NOT ! Angel being our family name, gave us great “Angel” stories and some that I remember to this day. Even when I was in high school, I experienced one of those really weird feelings of someone talking to me that wasn’t in the room. Has that ever happened to you? YOU EXPLAIN IT ANY WAY YOU LIKE. So this started with the trash can in our apartment. Dad and I used to toss crumpled paper into the trash can and see who could “SCORE”. (get it in the trash can without having to go and pick it up off the floor). I remember one summer when my Dad visited me. We lived up a long flight of stairs at the time and he wasn’t walking well so once he got up those stairs, he very rarely came down. Now we live in another place with a long flight of stairs. Dad never came to this place, however, I feel his spirit here with me. Sometimes the lid on the trash can just swings back and forth for no reason. Everyone in the household thought I was nuts until they experienced it too! (YOU EXPLAIN IT ANY WAY YOU LIKE). So now I’m going to go back to one of the very first stories, where my friend, Marti, has the great sign about changing the toilet paper..... we ran out of paper this day and the only paper around was some JOKE HALLOWEEN TOILET PAPER ROLLS! What they were doing hanging out in the bathroom---well, now that I think about it, guess that’s a good place for them. So I get into the bathroom and see this Halloween paper on the roller. OK, no big deal. I use the paper---Big Deal ! Yuk !!!! I think it’s really meant to be JOKE paper and that’s about it. I think the only reason it was there was that we ran out and had no back up. Next day, the paper is back Page 48
to normal. (Glad Art took care of THAT. Usually, one of us does the replenishing. Obviously, it wasn’t me this time) I must admit, Art is great when it comes to changing the paper. ( Especially when I’m yelling about it) So now I’m in bed, watching a show, and I get up to use the restroom. ( another story from home). I walk in-- I don’t touch a THING-- and I hear a loud crash. I thought it was the shampoo from the shower falling. Even that would have been weird. I look around and see nothing. Finally, I notice behind the bathroom door, the 2 rolls of Joke Halloween paper on the floor. One which was started and partially rolled open. WHAT is up with that? Nothing was touched in the restroom and I have to tell you, that story about the Halloween paper on the roller-- it was months prior! That paper has been sitting on the top of the shelf with all the other toilet paper-for months !!!!! Nothing was touched in the restroom. So now tie all the stories together...... Was Dad saying , “Hi”? YOU EXPLAIN IT ANY WAY YOU LIKE!
BUSINESS TIP: What do you do when something happens in your business that you just can’t explain? Why is it that some people can have an overnight success story and others struggle. There IS a happy medium and we really have to be resolved that there ARE things that we just can’t explain. When those things happen, I do think there are times when it’s good NOT to tell anyone. Sometimes we as people just don’t understand things. We are all afraid of the unknown, almost as much as we are afraid of change. Yet, I think we find that change is tangible and the unknown.....well, it’s unknown and can be scary. BUSINESS takes on a life of its own. If you own one, you know that it is a FULL TIME JOB. Today, there are many people that own businesses and still work OTHER jobs part time. (In some cases, full time) It takes a lot of sweat equity to make a business work. If you are serious about your business, you MUST take in ALL that goes with it. It’s really almost like a marriage. It doesn’t matter what type of business you are in, you have to be married to it. We always used to say that in the restaurant business. Really, it doesn’t matter what type it is. That means.....for better or worse, til death do you part..... or until you sell it! Hahahaha. Seriously, you can’t explain away everything. You have to rise and fall with your business. Always, always remember that success is not how hard you fall or how many times you fall. Success is how many times you get up and keep going.
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Flush #30
“Now that’s just lazy....” I’ve come to realize, over the years, that I have this thing about the restroom in the middle of the night, in the dark. Do you do this too? I think it’s just lazy, but I still do it. Maybe I don’t want the light to wake me up, maybe I’m just half asleep, maybe....... So I get to the restroom in the middle of this particular night and of course, it’s dark, but it’s usually not too dark to be a space of blackness. I look over at the toilet seat. (I have to look at it for when the other half uses it, the seat is usually left up— what’s up with that?) It looks ok to me so I go for it. WELL.....it really wasn’t ok and I almost had the falling in issue. Why does that feel so weird? I really want to know if that happens to you guys? This next night, I made double sure to check the seat. Great. Now remember it is still dark inside and I don’t even WANT to open my eyes. Seat looks great so once again I go for it – and miss the seat altogether. Now that’s a wake up call! Page 50
The next night, I believe I got it right. So is the 3rd time really a charm? (There’s that 3 thing again). Funny thing is, I wash my hands in the dark, I dry them in the dark – no problem – well except for this night. I was so happy I got the seat right, I reached for the sanitizer that I keep on the sink and rubbed my hands thoroughly. (Sometimes I use the sanitizer, sometimes I wash hands and use the soap.) This time I was rubbing my hands with the soap. What is all that? I think it’s just lazy....OR... sleepwalking if you may. Funnier yet, about a month ago I was at a meeting in a beautiful country club. Restrooms were so nice and clean. They had beautiful soap bottles on the sink too.(So I thought) I went to use the soap this time, and just in a slightly different fashion, I was washing my hands with body lotion!!!! The soap was in the metal armor that was attached to the sink . The beautiful bottles were body lotion. So I guess, when our minds are in a different state, we don’t focus on what is right in front of us (….and I was awake this time).
BUSINESS TIP: We all find ourselves in the dark sometimes. We need to develop and practice those “trust” skills so we know that we will come out of this and we trust in that outcome. We all get lazy at times. Take a break that is well deserved. Don’t wait to be told that you need a break. Use the power of your mind to trust, to feel good, to take a break when you need it and to stay focused. Now here is the tricky part. Don’t stay so focused on ONE THING that you miss the opportunities walking around you at lightning speed. So don’t use the body lotion as soap! Let your mind breathe, grow, and trust in that power that we have within us. These things will allow you to grow, both personally and professionally.
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Flush #31
“Thanks for the memories...” So let’s spend a few moments on our childhood memories. (Maybe you are still a child and don’t have many of those yet....KIDDING !) The power of our minds is so strong. Isn’t it amazing the things we remember? Most of us can’t even remember what we had for breakfast or dinner the day before yet we have strong vivid memories of particular events from our childhood.What do you remember from your family members in the restrooms? Does anything funny bring a smile to your face? Close your eyes for a quick minute and think about that and hold onto that smile... Growing up in a shore town, we lived in a very old house. Lots of rooms and only 1 bathroom. That always made it fun, especially when we had company. The thing I remember most about my Dad, in relationship to the restroom growing up, was the soothing feeling of the water rushing. I used to know he was up when I heard the sink water gushing out. He would make this noise too as if he wiped his hand over his face. (One of those, I’m awake kind of sounds.) I also remember hearing the clank of the shaving cream can or the razor hitting the sink. Upon hearing all of that, I would know Dad was up. Page 52
For my Mom, the memory is quite different. What stands out most in my mind is the hair dye. It brings back such a vivid memory of the times she used to dye her hair BLACK, in the bathroom. I see her in an old house-dress with dye all over the neck of it. She would have her hair slicked up like the top of a rooster. It was all covered in black. You could see it on her face in some spots too. It’s a warm, fond, memory. I used to get a kick out of that. Funny memory I have is of my niece’s father. Well there were many funny memories of him. My Mom used to call him the line between Genius and Insanity. This memory would happen more than once and it sticks out in my mind, in my reflection. See if you can relate. When my niece was little, her Dad would take her up to the boardwalk and carry her on his shoulders. Well that sounds like fairly normal behavior, yes? What would happen when my niece would have to use the restroom was a little farther away from normal, just in case you are measuring. He would walk into the public restrooms, niece on shoulder, and he would say,”OK boys, this is my daughter with me, she is young and impressionable and you all have to leave now!” Amazingly, they would leave and he would turn the restroom, filled with men on a crowded boardwalk, into a place where my very young niece would be in private. When my grandmother lived with us, we used to run a bath-house at the shore. This was a place where people could come off the beach, have a locker, a shower and a place to change their clothes. I have a strong scent in my mind from the bath-house (calming). Mostly, I remember my grandmother sitting on the stool in front checking people in and out. I remember the keys, like a rope bracelet with a round bronze tag on it that had a number etched into it. ( you could wear that on your wrist). I also remember taking those showers in the bath-house when I would come off the beach. These are just some of the strong childhood memories I have relating to the restroom. What are yours? Of course, now, I have all these memories unfolding in my mind about the beach and growing up at the shore. Maybe you had a Summer vacation that brings back a memory for you. How nice it is to reflect on those times.
BUSINESS TIP: Exercise your mind. Whether you meditate, visit an old familiar place, or reflect on a strong memory from your past, keep your mind sharp. Know that it is a file cabinet and has all that you know stored into it. Open that file cabinet and allow new files to be installed. That is what will change the way you think about things, the way you do things. By this, I mean change in a good way. Change to make you move into new and exciting places. Reflect on your great memories and leave enough space to add new ones. Life is a constant journey, learning. There is never a destination, we are always moving forward. Know your mind . It will take you anywhere you want to go.
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Flush #32
“In with the old, in with the new....” I do believe that balance is very important in our well beings. New things are in front of us all the time. How many times have you heard the expression, “ I just got this phone and already there is a new model out!”. (or computer, or appliance etc....) New things are wonderful, progress is wonderful, however, we should never forget “BALANCE “ in our lives. I feel that mixing old standard behavior, beliefs, etc.-in with new of the same-is a far better place to be than just staying in one spot, in one belief, in one place. So this is a very current story. It takes place at an event I attended recently at the beautiful Hawk Haven Winery in Cape May, N.J. Thank you Kenna for allowing me to share this experience. Page 54
Here I am at the end of an event with about a 45 minute drive home. Naturally, I visit the restroom before I leave. This is a one room stall and when you close the door you feel like you are in a living room. The walls were a golden color of what looked like a sponge effect. It just felt like I was in a sort of living room and not in a restroom. So I’m looking around, not expecting anything funny or strange to happen and then I notice something interesting. There is a boat on the floor. Yep, a boat. Well, it’s a small boat. It’s kind of like a show piece. If I had to describe the size, let’s say it was like a child’s soap box derby car... maybe slightly smaller than that. Looks sort of like a canoe standing on end with the point at the top. The little slats in the boat became shelving and there you would find paper towels, tissues, soap etc. So now I have to find out how this boat comes to be in the restroom. It was just such an interesting piece and didn’t seem like it was randomly selected for the restroom. So I go up to Kenna and ask her about it. Here is what she told me: “This was my Mom’s boat,” she said. She told me that as her Mom got older she would downsize her “stuff “ and it always seemed like the boat was kept no matter what. It was her Mom’s favorite little knick-knack so to say. When her Mom passed on, Kenna wound up with this boat. She had no idea what she was going to do with it. All she knew is that each time her Mom got rid of things, the boat was not one of those things. So she decided to put it in the restroom as a decoration and a reminder of her MOM. Since my Mom means so much to me, I totally related to the story and asked Kenna if I could share this with all of you. So there, in the restroom, I find an old decoration blended in with a new artsytype restroom and a new business. This is a memory that my friend will carry with her as she moves forward. (Just like I carry mine and you carry yours.)
BUSINESS TIP: With all the new-fangled things we have today-new electronics, new ventures into space, cars that can think, computers etc.-learn to mix in the old. Don’t throw away old ways totally and don’t adopt new ways totally. You have to find that “Balance” in your life and in your business. This allows you to bring your own experiences and expertise to your ventures. This could be the thing that separates you from the competition. It’s not always about all the new toys. Sometimes it’s about the old ones and how we incorporate and involve those toys into our lives every day.
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Flush #34
“What do I do now?” This great memory came to me the other night as I was reflecting on my daughter’s life. I guess we all do that as they are growing up. If you don’t have children yet, remember this story when it is YOUR turn to think back..... Now that my daughter is approaching the next phase of her life, college, etc... it takes me back to a time when......... Well, when my daughter was little, there were always funny stories to tell about day to day life. I’m sure you can relate to that if you have children. Even if you don’t, I’m sure you have friends or family members telling those stories to you. So this time in our lives doesn’t circle around one particular event but a series of events where my daughter liked to “feel her oats” so to say. Why is it that she does this in the restroom and to me? There are several occasions that I can think back on where I’m in the restroom with her, I’m the one using the restroom yet she is too little to wait outside so she is in there with me. When it is my turn to use the facilities, my daughter decides that it would be fun to unlock the door. “What do I do now?” She stands there laughing and the first thought in my head is not that she’s gonna run out and disappear on me, MY first thought is WHO is going to walk in on us?!!!! Well I guess I thought about both, but considering the situation, I think the first thought was someone walking in on us.... maybe even seeing her laughing. She would get the biggest kick out of UN-locking the door while I was using the facilities. I had to find ways to amuse her in the restroom so that she wouldn’t do that. I couldn’t wait til she got out of THAT phase. I even think I wound up holding on to her a few times so she would just STAY! How crazy is that?
BUSINESS TIP: Unlock the potential in your mind. Today, more scientists and specialists are working on the power of our own minds than ever before. What we think in our minds become our feelings and our actions. It all starts there. I think it is very important to make time for your mind, just as we make time to work, time to play and all of that. Whether it’s meditation, getting lost in a good book or a movie, or just sitting quietly somewhere to think, it is very important to exercise your mind just as you exercise your body. Just maybe our minds would stay sharper longer if we took the time to treat them well. If you don’t know where to start, try this. Turn on the shower, sit quietly on your bed or somewhere near where you can hear the shower. Turn everything else off. Close your eyes and just concentrate on the falling water. If you have no idea how to meditate or how to relax your mind, this is a good way to start. It helps you NOT think about anything else. Just think about the water and how it sounds. This will do wonders for your mind and clear your head enough so you can concentrate on your business. Page 56
Flush # 52
“ The singing sink” This time I am running an event and just before I have to get into the room to open it up, I step into the restroom. After I’m done, I go to use the sink. (How funny is it that many of the stories are around the sink !) So I stick my hand under the automatic faucet, that you now know I love so well, and the sink starts singing... It was sooooooo funny. It was squealing and then it would stop. Squeal and then stop, AND in various formations, just like in a song.... I laughed so hard I almost needed the restroom part again. Later that evening when the event was over, I entered the restroom again and someone from the event was in there. I asked if she got the singing sink. I showed her what I meant and now we were both laughing......
BUSINESS TIP: With our technological world being so intense these days, marketing your business takes on various forms. You have traditional marketing, social marketing and “out of the box” marketing. (Guess which one I like best...hahahaha) Actually, I believe in moderation, in all things.... I think we should balance it out with a mixture of all kinds of things to market your business. One of the best things you can do is get others to SING YOUR PRAISES. There are many sites where you can have people post things about you. You may know some of the more popular ones like Facebook and Twitter. There are sites like Google plus, linked-IN, Yelp, Pinterest, and Foursquare, just to name a few. There are many. Have people write about you, mention you, blog about you. These are all ways to promote what you are doing, on line, at little or no cost. Page 57
Flush # 35
“The unspoken rules!” Well this was fun. In sharing some stories with one of my clients, a story came out that was worthy of this book. It’s great too for it comes from a male point of view. I really can’t wait to see some of the stories people will submit for the second book. I’m hoping we get some stories from men. I haven’t decided to use the men’s room yet to find stories. I really want them to just happen. This is great for I get to share and laugh and relate this to the women’s way........ What are the unspoken rules of the restroom? Is it women asking other women to join them when they use the restroom? Do you ever notice that? That usually happens at parties or special functions. “Want to go to the restroom?” one will ask another..... Is it the fact that we chat amongst each other in the restroom. I have heard many times, “Don’t say that in the restroom-you never know who is listening!”
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Well, I now know the unspoken rules for men. At least one or two of them. (Guys.........easy on me, I got it second hand). I found out that some men’s rooms have dividers between the restroom urinals and some don’t. I guess most men would rather use ones that HAVE dividers. I know I wouldn’t be as comfortable if the women’s rooms had stalls without doors. (Although I have seen that. Usually it meant the door was broken). So, did you know that when you go into the Men’s room (no dividers-just a bank of urinals) and someone else is already there, you are not supposed to use the urinal next to them. You have to skip one. THAT IS AN UNSPOKEN RULE. There is also hardly ever any conversation at the urinal. THAT IS AN UNSPOKEN RULE. Conversations, if any, take place at the sink. Well, I guess I would be banned from the restroom for I talk ALL THE TIME!
BUSINESS TIP: Who makes these unspoken rules? Do you have them in your business? Do others know about them? How do they form? How is that made into a habit? (Maybe one that needs to be broken....and if so, how do you do THAT?) What are the unspoken rules in your business. Think about that. Do you notice them? Do you even look? Many business owners know MBWA. You may even walk into a store and see a sign with those letters on it. Do you know what that is? I know most of you do, if you have a retail business. Why isn’t that so in ANY business. So I’m giving you the inside scoop if you don’t already know it. M.B.W.A. = Management By Walking Around. Do you take the time to walk around your business? Is it checking your stock, is it checking your help or staff. Is it checking cleanliness, laziness or outstanding performance. Is it checking yourself. You need to perform MBWA no matter what type of business you have or how much or little staff you have. If this is done on a regular basis, you will know your unspoken rules. You will create them, stop them or manage them. That is YOUR JOB as a business owner. That is just one of many jobs you have as a business owner. It’s almost like a meditation for your business. Stop and take a few moments to know your business as you would know yourself. You will then know all the unspoken rules if you have any.
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Flush # 36
“What? Not again....” This is yet another story from the wonderful restroom at home, in the dark, in the middle of the night. Well this time I was coming off a very hectic week. All I wanted to do was go to bed. I like to put the T.V. on to help me unwind. Usually, I spend 20 minutes looking for something to watch to fall asleep to in 3 minutes. Hahaha Now this first story happened about a month ago.... I went to the restroom at home and as I was flushing the toilet I caught the saline solution which is in a small cabinet right over the toilet. It slips out of my hand and falls into the toilet while it is flushing. I yelled something and grabbed it, washed it and that was it. I didn’t even think it was funny enough to include in this book. Just something that happened. Since then, I put the seat cover down when I wanted to get something out of the cabinet. Now a month later...... I’m just chillin’ on my bed. I fall asleep and I never took off my make-up. How many times have you done that? I think we are just a “tired” society. Take that any way you like. No, I’m kidding, really.... So finally, I wake up. Art had come in , turned off the lights and asked me if I was awake. He told me he put my phone on the charger and moved the raisins. (guess I had raisins with me while I was chilling out- I was really wiped out). I felt my eyes bothering me a little and I realize I dozed off and didn’t take off my makeup. Art is talking to me and all I hear is mumbling....I respond with more mumbling.... great! So I make it to the restroom, which is also dark.... yep, Page 60
my favorite.... I use the restroom and I go to grab the makeup remover. (mind you I’m still half asleep). It is also in the same small cabinet over the toilet. The remover slips out of my hands and falls into the toilet as it is flushing. All I could do was yell some profanity and then I begin laughing. I grabbed it out so it wouldn’t flush down or better yet jam up the toilet. I begin washing the bottle and I’m just cracking up the whole time. Art is now intrigued and is asking me what the heck is going on. Well by this time the light is on and now I’m awake. Great way to wake up. (crusty eyes and things falling into a flushing toilet in the dark) I can’t believe the same thing happened about a month ago! At least I go back to bed with a smile on my now clean face, a clean makeup remover bottle and no reason to call the plumber!
BUSINESS TIP: What is it that makes us do the same things over and over again when they didn’t work out the first time or the second time and so on....? What do we have to do to make ourselves see that we need to learn a lesson by the mistakes we make? Dad always used to tell me to learn by my mistakes. Do we do that? I hope so. I hope we can just think about this story or something in your own life that makes you laugh, when you realize that you did that exact same thing with the same results. Another saying I like is, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” We do this on many levels..... sadly, drinking and driving, staying with an abusive partner, falling for the wrong types of people. So what does it take to see these things? That may be a question that has been haunting mankind for centuries. I think reflecting on times that produce good results is a good start. Well how do we know that? Let’s say that when you are brand new in your business, you should be taking notes. Even if you have experience--any new business can come with it’s share of “unknowns”. Taking notes is the best way to see what is working and what isn’t. You may not be a note-taker so in that case, you should have an assistant, an intern or even a family member or friend be your note-taker. This way as your business grows, you can go back and review. This could be a journal if that works better. Whatever works for you. You can do it as a vision board. (and if you don’t know what that is you REALLY need to contact me). Any way that works for you. Give yourself a time frame. Your first 3 months, 6 months or even just the time you are preparing to open your business. You should have some way to reflect on the things that produce good results and the things that don’t. At least that way you can try to prevent the cycle of doing the same thing again and again, getting the same lousy result. Page 61
Flush # 37
(said with enthusiasm......)
“Waaaait for it......” This story is from a family member. (It must really be rubbing off. All I could do was laugh out loud when Art came back to his seat and shared a FLUSH story with me.) We were at a local restaurant for breakfast. “I was washing my hands,” Art said. “And I went to get the soap from one of those automatic soap dispensers. Nothing came out. So I moved to another one. As soon as I took my hands away from the machine, PLOP, the soap came out right onto the counter. Why didn’t I think to just WAIT FOR IT?” So I said, “like for an hour?” Hahaha
BUSINESS TIP: How does that expression go? Patience is a virtue.... or something like that. Once we get that energy going it is sometimes hard to turn it off. This is where we need to remember that “balance.” Stop to breathe, to focus, to put your mind in a calm state so you can organize. Page 62
When you are at the beginning stages of your business, there will be many, many things you have to wait for. I’m not talking about 5 or 10 min. I am talking about a week, a month, a year and so on. If you can, plan for that. See what tasks looks like they will take time to cultivate. What things in your business are those seeds you have to plant. You need to learn how to wait for the crop. That is not to say that when you reach out to someone, you should have to wait a long time for a response. That is soooooo one of my pet peeves. (When someone doesn’t even have the courtesy to reply back to you or return a phone call, even if it’s just to say they are too busy to talk at this time.) What I am saying here is that you need to determine those things in your business that will take time to show you the fruits of your labor. Recognize those things and put them in a place where you go and check on them later. Make sure you follow up and stay on top of the waiting game. If you do, you will get the result.... If you don’t, you may just get a PLOP OF SOAP at the wrong time. Without following up and checking up, you may get that PLOP OF SOAP that you desperately need, while you are out looking for something else. Another expression I like is........ “When my ship finally does come in, I’ll be on a plane!” DO NOT THINK LIKE THAT! Stay on top of your business whether it is something you need to handle right away, or something you have to wait for. **Author’s expression....this story is my lead in to our 2nd book where we will be focusing on stories from other people! If you would like to submit a story for our 2nd book, log on to: www.4astar.com Send me your contact information and you will be sent all the details to submit your FLUSH story for book #2.
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Flush # 38
“Who designed this anyway?” This time I am in a very beautiful hotel meeting space. Went to a wonderful event, had a great time and now it’s time to say goodbye and use the restroom. I have been in this meeting space many times. It’s gorgeous. I have even held some of my own business meetings there. I guess I just never noticed this before. Funny how something can be sitting in a space for the longest time, you see it every time to go by it, yet you don’t notice it.... ‘til one day when you say, “When did they put that there?” and someone tells you it’s been there forever. I notice that a lot when I’m driving. I’ll tell Art or Brie, “When did that place open up, it must be new?”. Of course, one of them laughs and answers back, “It’s been there for years!” What makes our minds do this to us? Well let’s see about this one. Really this one is about design..... Here I am in the restroom of this beautiful facility. The restroom is gorgeous and big enough to have your own meeting in. As I am in the stall, I notice this brass holder mounted to the wall. What is that? I guess it looked like a toilet paper holder. Hmmmm.....let me see. So I’m picking at it, trying to figure out how it opens, moves, how you get toilet paper from it, whatever..... Now I’m thinking , maybe it’s a place to hang your purse??? No.... THAT doesn’t seem right. I guess I thought it was something other than the obvious for on the floor next to the toilet is a long silver holder with rolls of toilet paper in it. The actual toilet paper that you need to use is sitting in there as well and you just take the roll out and use what you need and then put it back. Ok..... well that’s kind of different, I thought. I could not, for the life of me, figure out what the brass thing was that was mounted to the wall. Of course, when I go back out to the meeting area, I have to pull a hostess aside and ask her. Here is what she told me.... Page 64
“Funny you should ask about that. I often laugh about it myself,” she said. Apparently the brass holder WAS a toilet paper holder. These big meeting places all buy lots of things like that. (soap, toilet paper, cleaner etc....) Unfortunately, the place they purchase their toilet paper from, makes the paper in rolls that do not fit into the brass receptacle. OMG! Who thinks of that? Who designed that thing anyway? How could you have the specs on the design, NOT compatible with the place you get your paper from? So now, all the stalls in there have a brass holder mounted to the wall with no toilet paper in them. ( I know, because I checked each stall!) They all have long sliver holders with toilet paper and a loose roll on top for you to use. Sometimes I wonder how these things happen............
BUSINESS TIP: This is an example of money just thrown down the drain because you didn’t do your “MBWA”, your check, your BALANCE ! Remember I said that BALANCE comes in many ways. Not only in your mental state, but in your physical state. The idea of wasting money on something so silly is beyond me. I do believe that when businesses get to be HUGE corporations, many things are not handled properly. That there is an overabundance of waste and an overabundance of mis-communication. Whether you are a start up business, a mid size business or a huge corporation, you need to be in charge. If it is not you, then the person YOU PLACE in charge has to answer to YOU! I know we see and hear stories of how all sorts of businesses, organizations, even households waste money and time. This is something that is totally preventable by having a good plan of action and following it. That means all the way down to the installation of your toilet paper holders. Each and every person in charge of YOUR business, should answer to YOU!!! Will oversights happen? Of course they will, however if you stay on top of your game, less of them will happen. You should take some extra time to make sure all the things that happen, happen the way you want them to. That time could save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. After all, this is YOUR business. Ever see those signs that say, WHETHER I’M RIGHT OR WHETHER I’M WRONG---I’M RIGHT! That’s a huge statement to make. That means that YOU are in charge. YOU are the boss. Exercise that right and do your check and your BALANCE.
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Flush # 39
“Happy Birthday to me!” So it was my birthday and a lot of cool things happened. Nothing really extravagant, just a fun enjoyable day. I always say you should celebrate your birthday for a whole month! (especially because mine comes at the END of the month) This way you have lots of time to celebrate YOU! A Few gift certificates, a few lunches, a cute bouquet of flowers later and off to dinner with the family ON my birthday. We were in a very nice restaurant. I so enjoyed the food, and better yet, the company. At the end of the meal, Brie and I go to the restroom. (Of course, we go together, it’s that “unspoken rule”!) Absolutely nothing happened in there (well other than the usual stuff that happens in there)..........until we were ready to wash our hands and leave. I was out of the stall first and Brie comes out as I am washing my hands. We both admired the beautiful REAL flowers that were on the sink. This was a bank of about 3 sinks so the flowers just set it off beautifully. Brie looks at me and says, “Wanna take a picture with the flowers?....it is your birthday!”. I said no. Then I thought about it and said, “Yes, why not!”. Well........I didn’t think THAT was a story that was going to make the book until the picture wound up on FACEBOOK. The picture came out really nice. Still didn’t think there was anything there for a story until the picture got a comment. This was actually from a high school friend of mine. She said that the flowers were beautiful and asked if I got them for my birthday! All I could do was laugh! So now, do I post that they were flowers from the restroom??? I think I did. “Happy Birthday to me! “ Page 66
BUSINESS TIP: We discussed doing that “Check and Balance”, “MBWA” , ( management by walking around), and “O.P.P. “ (Other people’s property- also fitting for this one, huh?) Let’s talk about 2 things here. First, the aspect of cutting corners. Everyone tries to cut corners whether it’s to stretch your food out longer, to take a shortcut driving somewhere and yes, even in business, as you may already know well. We have to determine if we our “cutting corners” is cost effective or not. This could go back to the saying YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. (which is so true). There are times that you need to evaluate what you are doing and take those few extra minutes to see whether cutting that corner is the way to go. By the way, I did get flowers for my birthday. The picture was NOT a plant ! Hahahaha. I’m sure there are many times you can cut corners in your business that will be worth it. Just make sure you EVALUATE for there will be times you want to cut corners and the “worth- it” will be NOT. The second thing we talk about is USING each other. (and I mean this in all the GOOD sense of what you may be thinking) This is called BUILDING STRATEGIC ALLIANCES. (Using the flowers for a cool picture where someone thought they were flowers given to me for my birthday). Many people in the business community already know this tactic. If you don’t, write it down and adopt it into your business and your everyday life. BUILD STRATEGIC ALLIANCES everywhere you go. You never know when you may need to help someone in that alliance with you OR when your alliance will help you! So what does this all mean? People do business with people that they know, like and trust. You have to build all these things to make BUSINESS happen. Many people walk around thinking that if they work hard, business will come. ….that if they BUILD a business, people will come.... You need to build RELATIONSHIPS to build your business. Trust me this doesn’t happen overnight. If you can’t make the time to build relationships, maybe having your own business or even running a business is not for you. I mean that with all of my heart. You have to take the time to nurture a business relationship so that you have rapport, trust and “likeability”. Will EVERYONE trust you? Will EVERYONE like you? Of course, not. We are all different. You will definitely get farther, faster when you learn to build relationships and to utilize what you have built to help yourself and to help others along the way. What you want to do is make sure you are building that trust. You must also make sure as you are climbing up the ladder of success - that your integrity climbs with you. The higher you climb, the more you need to take your level of integrity with you. People will see you differently. This makes building those trusts and those strategic alliances extremely important. Look in the mirror all the time and make sure you LIKE who is looking back. Use what you know, build solid relations in your business, and climb that ladder with integrity. Your success depends on it. Page 67
Flush # 40
“Sometimes you just need a chuckle” So this story actually surrounds another incident. It’s just amazing how a small case of the RESTROOM CHUCKLE can make you feel a little better. I know that you or someone you know can relate to some of this.... I took my daughter for her driving test today. That should say it all. We got up early, we shared a little sandwich so our bellies would be a little less nervous. We went to the park, practiced the parallel parking like we did the night before and we were set to go. We were feeling good. We were still a little nervous, but good. So can you relate so far? I was just as nervous as she was. We get to the road test area at 8:45 for a 9:00 appointment. We wait until 9:10 for ANYONE to approach the car. When they do, they as for MY license, MY registration etc... Well I come to find out that my registration had expired. How did I miss that one? So now they ask me for my daughter’s birth certificate. Well... where.... anywhere, did it say we had to bring THAT !! We used it for the driving school, who issued her permit. Ok, we now have one hour to come back with the “goods” or we have to re-schedule. So we scramble. We get to D.M.V. and my car is registered to my other half, Art. I am not on the titile. So here’s the next plan.... we call Art at work and he comes to take care of the registration. Yay ! I leave my daughter and the old card at the D.M.V. and go home to get the birth certificate. Now I have to use the restroom. Oh wait, no time for that. I live in a 3 story walk up.... I get home, run up the stairs, grab the B.C. and I’m on my way again. ( still needing the restroom). About 1/2 way back, the man and the kid are behind me at a traffic light. My daughter jumps out of Art’s car and into mine and we are on our way back to the inspection site. We made the whole thing in an hour and 10. Pretty good, however, I STILL need a restroom and the gas in my car is almost on empty now. Moving right along, the gentleman handling the road test was less than pleasant. (Sorry to say) I watched them drive away in my car and i felt so good after all that ridiculousness. When they got back, my daughter had failed the parallel parking. Are you relating yet? She was just devastated even though we had prepared for this scenario too. She had tears rolling down her face ase headed back to D.M.V. to set up a new appointment. ( They knew us as soon as we walked in and said, “Wow, you must love it here!”) My daughter was still pretty upset. I kept trying to comfort her. I told her this was a test run and now she knew exactly what to expect the next time. I guess the parallel parking just got to her, not to mention all the craziness surrounding the test and the VERY PLEASANT insturctor. Page 68
After we set the new appointment, we went to one of our favorite coffee places, BARISTA’S COFFEE HOUSE, for a bagel, coffee and a sweet treat. That seemed to help a little. Even though I am busting to use the restroom, daughter beat me to that, so again, I wait. While she is in there, I begin chatting with the owners, Mark and Debbie, who are friends of mine. Mark asked if my daughter was ok so I began to tell them the story. When she came out of the restroom, it was finally my turn. I see mark go over and try to cheer my daughter up with stories of his own driving experiences. So now, feeling a little better, we relax before I have to take her back into school. A few minutes later, an elderly woman heads towards the restroom. Just as she approaches the door, Mark is heading in the same direction with 2 big rolls of toilet paper to install in there. Now this is one co-ed restroom ( very pretty I might add. ) He is carrying these big rolls of paper, the commercial kind, the really big rolls. He comes out from behind the counter, just around the corner from the restroom and is just behind the woman making her way there. He says, “Excuse me one minute so I can put these in, please....” Well, the woman turned around and without saying a word grabbed one of these huge rolls and went into the restroom and shut the door. Mark turned around astonished. He caught my eye and we both got a chuckle out of that. I guess she’s gonna figure out how to install that too while she’s in there.
BUSINESS TIP: I explained the same tip to my daughter as we waited for our coffee and chai tea. “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” If more people would realize that, the world would be a better place to live in and to work in. This applies to all areas, including your business. There will be times when you have all the pieces of the puzzle laid out correctly yet they just don’t seem to fit right. (Like with the parallel parking.) You can do all the right things and the plan may still not come out to your liking or to the way you expected. This doesn’t mean you give up, or that you failed or that you are nothing. You react positively and find another way, make another trip, get another plan. Plans are bigger than we are and no matter what you believe, sometimes there is just bigger plan FOR us.... So you react in a positive way and fix it. You regroup and move ahead. You are special, as is everyone around you. We are here to lift each other up, help each other and make the most of our short time here. Bumps in the road are there to prepare you for the next journey. Enjoy the ride, even when you have to change course a little.
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FLUSH # 41
“So how many times have you done THAT?” So here I must continue the saga of the teen-age daughter driving......of course I wind up with a story to share with you. I think it was just meant to be. Honestly, it goes back to all that stuff our Mom’s would tell us and still, “How many times have you done THAT? “ Now this time, we go back to the driving place for the road test, and YAY, it’s a pass this time. Run to motor vehicles, get the license, all that good stuff. So I had promised my daughter I would take her to this cool place for lunch. Well, it’s only 10 a.m. so lunch is still a little far off and we had breakfast not too long ago. We decide to go shopping first. We head out to the mall and walk around one of our favorite stores taking in the sales. Before we leave, we head upstairs to the restroom. Nothing really silly happened inside the stall, yet I had that wonderful faucet afterwards that only gives you water when you push the button. So you push....you get water-great! When you go to move your hand under the water.... it’s gone. “That can’t be right..” I said to myself. Push.....water....move hand under faucet, NO WATER! How am I supposed to wash my hands??? It was strange. Had to wash one hand at a time, find a place to put my stuff on the wet sink etc. Needless to say , I wound up at another counter (at least they had one) using the sanitizer etc.... Well you think it would end there. NOT. My daughter and I went out a few days prior to a local store to pick up hematite rings. We just love those . They break very easily and my daughter broke hers and wanted to replace it. There is a great shop near us that sells all that cool stuff so we wandered out to replace the ring. I got a pinky hematite ring and was wearing it the day we went back for the driving test. Now mind you these rings are very inexpensive. Hematite, the bloodstone, is supposed to be great to have on you. I even have a little hematite stone I carry in my purse. It’s really shiny too. Makes the rings look so nice. Maybe you can guess where this is going now. So, back at the mall restroom, my daughter is still in the stall and I’m out at the counter with the sanitizer. I place my purse onto the counter, I remove the hematite ring all the while thinking.... I must tell Brie that she has to be really careful if she takes off a ring at the bathroom sink....counter, whatever....really shouldn’t even do that. I place the dark silver ring onto the top of my purse so I wouldn’t forget it. Brie comes out, we start talking and I gather my stuff and proceed to the door. I begin to tell her about not taking off rings in the restrooms etc...... AGH !!!! Where’s my ring?????? I can’t even finish the story when I rush back to the counter and look....NO RING.... So I’m telling her the story as I lose the stupid ring that I just bought a few days ago. This was not a good thing. I take all the crap out of my purse and there is the ring shining at the bottom of my purse. So.....”How many times have you done THAT?” How smart was I to Page 70
take the ring off in the first place and then place a silver/black shiny ring on a black shiny purse???? I have even lost a few things, taking them off in the restrooms and leaving them. I thought I had learned my lesson. At least this ring wasn’t an expensive one. It did have sentimental value that day and I did wind up finding it . We followed that lesson with a bowl of laughter.
BUSINESS TIP: How many times do you tell yourself you are not going to do that thing that is such a bad habit, and then you find yourself doing it again. This is where your discipline has to come into your business. There are going to be things that if left unattended will come back to haunt you. One of those things is leaving money in places that it just doesn’t belong. Deposits, checks, just cash handed to you etc....Don’t get into the habit of taking care of a customer, finding your coffee cup, your lunch or some other project when you have money that has to be put somewhere. You should have a spot for money whether it’s a cash drawer, a box, an envelope or whatever. The idea is, again, to be consistent in where you place this and what you do. You don’t want that money winding up on the sink in some restroom while you are looking for your ring! One of the things my Dad taught me was to always count money when someone hands it to you-even if it’s the bank! Always, always make sure that when you are dealing with money you are as accurate as possible. Another thing I was taught was to make your money face the same direction. This is more for someone who handles a cash register than not, however, it’s a good practice no matter how you deal with cash money. I find it annoying that places don’t do this. I guess because I grew up with that understanding. Try it out and you’ll see what I mean. We used to put all the “faces” of the paper money UP and facing LEFT. When you try it both ways.... ( all mixed up....and all organized) you will see that there are less mistakes, easier counting involved etc.... when you do it the organized way. The bank also appreciates the money that way. It is much easier to count. This is also a protective measure as you will know right away if someone untrained by you has handled your money . It will most likely be upside down or facing the wrong way. You can never go wrong with organization and accuracy, especially when you are dealing with money. If this is a strong suit for you, great, you are ahead of the game. If it’s not, remember practice makes perfect. One little change, like facing your money up and to the left can make all the difference in the world in mistakes with money. You also have to have that special place for your money so you don’t wind up losing it over a stupid move. We have enough ways to lose our money without helping it along. Page 71
Flush #42
Stuck like
GLUE
So, this time I’m in a restroom after a nice lunch and I go to “decorate” the seat, as I call it. No seat covers in this restroom at all. So I use paper. Here is the classic GET YOURSELF ALL READY AND THE PAPER FALLS OFF THE SEAT story.... think we talk about that somewhere.... Well this time, it wasn’t an air conditioner blowing, it was just a heat vent somewhere. The paper would slowly just slide, and slide a little more and slide some more and then GONE. Ok...I was able to work it out in between slides....... Now I’m ready for the toilet paper. I pull it and just a tear of it comes off the roller. So I do the usual thing and start spinning the roller to find the end, almost tickling the roll of paper to let the end kind of separate from the rest of the roller. Well going back to that heat vent--with the heat blowing and the rolling of the paper, I must have created some sort of static electricity for the paper, even when it separated, just kept going back on the roller. (leaving nothing for me to get) So again, I roll the paper around, end separates and flies back up. Well, I was getting a little tired of THAT whole scenario. This time, I decide to follow that little fly away paper up the side of the holder and grab it! Well, it was gonna show ME..... and it grabbed me instead. Yep, got my hand stuck inside the toilet paper holder. Wiggling and wiggling my hand until finally it came out! Ouch! AND....it came out with the end of the paper...... what a crock ! Hand was a little sore but nothing to speak about really, except in HERE.
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BUSINESS TIP: There are times you will do all the right things and make all the right moves and you still wind up STUCK! Now that can mean a lot of things to people. How stuck are you? Etc.... Stuck could be as simple as your hand caught in the toilet paper roller and just some wiggling gets you free. Stuck could mean a way more complicated situation than that. When this happens to you, you can NOT dwell on it. The more you stress, and think about all the problems due to the fact you are STUCK somehow, the longer and harder it will be to get UN-STUCK ! I like to see these things as a triangle.Something I use with all of my clients when I first meet them. Let me explain why I do this. When you are on your path, let’s say you get stuck at the top of the triangle and that prevents you from going straight. Now you have to find a new path, wiggle room if you may, take a different road for the time being. When that road runs out, you need to repeat that and that will take you across the bottom of your triangle. If you find 2 new paths and give yourself a little room to look at something another way, you should find yourself back on that straight road you started on. This just gives you a simple visual of taking a new road or a new path when you get stuck and to keep maneuvering that path until you make it back onto the original road. This happens a lot in business, especially in a NEW business . Don’t be afraid to take a different road for a short time as long as you keep your eye on the goal and find a way back to it. Speaking of eye on your goal...do you have a vision board? Let’s save that one for another story. If you do.... you are already ahead of your game.
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Flush # 43
“The Bright green handle” This time I am at a business meeting. We are in a newly structured addition to a college. It is just gorgeous in there. At the end of the meeting, on my way out, I stop for the restroom. I hang my purse on the hook inside the stall. I throw my cape over the top of the stall door. When I turn around, I notice a bright green handle on the toilet. Now picture this. The restroom itself is spotless. The stalls are nothing really fancy, however they are immaculately clean. The only thing that looks out of place is this bright green handle. I, of course, start laughing and think, “what the heck is THAT?” Next to the handle is a small set of arrows, one going up and one going down..... AND they are purple!! I tried to find out what all this was. It really just looked out of place in this sort of stainless steel and white stall. Couldn’t figure it out. When I was done and I grabbed my cape from the door, I noticed a sign. Of course, my cape was covering it up. The sign said something like.... DUAL ACTION FLUSH HANDLE... etc..... So outside the stall I hear people coming and going and inside MY stall, I am pulling out my cell phone and taking pictures. I figured I would ask a plumber about this. Before I ever make it to a plumber, I am back at the school attending a career fair. Once again, I find myself in the restroom with the bright green handle. Now this time, I have no cape covering the sign so I decided to READ the sign a little further. After the note or title, if you may, about the Dual Action Flush Handle..... the sign proceeds to tell us that this is an energy saving device installed on behalf of the “GREEN” efforts in our community. You flush UP for liquid waste, DOWN for solid waste and get this fun part....... the green handle (?)...... it is ANTIBACTERIAL!!!! Wow! This had to be one of, or in this case, 2 of the most interesting things I have seen in a restroom stall.
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BUSINESS TIP: Today, no matter how we look at things, most people can not survive in a household if both parties or even all parties in that household are not working. So let’s address the “DUAL ACTION”. If you and your spouse, partner, friend, roommate.... both have to work, you need to figure out how you are going to make that advantageous to your businesses. There may come a time or even a goal you have set where only one of you in your home needs to work. Maybe the goal is both of you stay working. Maybe the goal is HAVING both of you go to work. The dual action needs to be addressed. If both parties work, where does it leave the rest of “LIFE”. Is it dividing up household chores? Is it helping each other in the off time with THEIR work? Maybe it’s the fact that you both work in the same business and that is a whole ‘nother aspect of a DUAL ACTION. How do you make THAT work? You have to decide these things if you live in a household where more than one person works. You MUST address this at some point. If you include the people in your life in your plan, you have a much better success rate in accomplishing that plan. With guidance from whatever you believe in, your plan has to include all the components of your life. A “DUAL ACTION” household is more of a normal state than not. Most people need to have more than one working in the home to make it. How does that play out into your business.? What WE do, is we have a family BOARD MEETING. (Not a BORED meeting....make sure it isn’t THAT or you will lose everyone.) Keep your meeting interactive. Get everyone’s thoughts on the next phases of your life, your business and the work that the others are doing. I have just started doing this as my business is growing and with a teenage daughter at home who is at a crossroads herself in life, it is important that we are all on the same page with each others goals. Whatever works for you is fine. The point is, you need to make sure that you are all a support system for each other. Doing this, will not only make your business happier, it will also make your life happier. The ones around you that are also working hard will appreciate that you took the time to fit what THEY do into your business life. Don’t just walk around with that “stinkin’ thinkin’”. (That negative attitude of..... ‘we are always all working, no time for this, no time for that, driving kids to work, making dinner, doing laundry..... blah, blah, blah.....’) Address the things that are going on around you. Dual Action is just that--2 things with Action. This is very powerful. Just like the Dual Action Flush, make your Dual Action work.
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Flush # 44
“Voice to text” This story was interesting. It could have happened anywhere. It just so happens, it winds up in the restroom. So I am at a business mixer and I'm sitting next to a bubbly gal who is just a delight. We all go around the room and talk about what we do and what we may be looking for. At this stage, I was looking for recruiters for a pageant and pageant contestants. This pageant travels around the country and gives women-and sometimes men-a chance to develop confidence as they walk the runway! This woman next to me got really excited for she has a friend, who has a daughter that this would be perfect for. When we finish the introductions, we are all mingling amongst each other. She is doing “Voice to Text” on her phone. If you are not familiar, you can talk to your phone and it types out a text message. Great! (I use it all the time) So now I head for the restroom. I walk in and there and at the sink is the gal who was sitting next to me. We say hi and as I am walking into the stall she says to me, “What was the name of the pageant again? I'm trying to get a hold of my friend.” So, I shout out the name, with a chuckle, “ ROYAL SUPREME” . As I am coming out of the stall, she is still there and she asks me again what the name of the pageant is. She proceeds to tell me that she is doing a “Voice to Text” and when she sent her friend the name, her phone typed “ WHITE PIZZA”..... Well, that got us both a good laugh. Page 76
BUSINESS TIP: I always wonder who the heck “THEY” is. Regardless, I use the phrase often, “They say that........” They say that communication is the key to any relationship. This is so true no matter who THEY is. It is also true of your business relationship. I'm sure you know the game called TELEPHONE. You pass a word or a phrase around in a circle whispering it quietly into the ear of the person next to you. By the time it reaches the last person, it is usually quite different than when it started. You DO NOT want that in your business. (Especially if you have a large corporation). In the last few years, I have noticed that communication is pretty much out the window. Why is the front line person the last to know anything? Why is the end bit of communication different than the way the dialogue started out? Did you get the memo???????? You need to put the CALM back in “Calm-munication”. By this I mean, chaos just erupts when the things that are meant to be said or done in ONE way, are said or done in ANOTHER. Calm down. Keep your message as simple as possible so the chances of miscommunication are lessened. Better yet, if you have the ability to communicate yourself, DO THAT. Once you pass on information to be passed on again, it can be blown out of proportion. Even the slightest change in what was meant to be communicated, can change a whole perspective. If you can deliver a message yourself, do that. If you can't, keep it simple. Stay calm. Either way, any communication is better than no communication. Communicate on a regular basis whether you have one employee or one thousand employees. This is a big key in the success plan. AND even though our technology changes on a daily basis, I suggest you DO NOT “VOICE TO TEXT” in relaying information on your business. At least not without checking it.
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Flush # 45
“I can't believe I fell for that one� So here we are having a wonderful dinner at a friend's home. I met these friends fairly recently and this is the first time we have been in their beautiful home. Of course, towards the end of the evening, I ask to use the restroom......... Mind you, I am never looking for these things to happen!!! There I am, well you know..... and I see on the sink a beautiful candle. It's small and in a nice little holder and it is glowing in the bathroom . As I'm staring at it, I see that the towel hanging above the sink is quite close to the candle. It's not, CALL THE FIRE TRUCKS NEWS, but it's hanging pretty close. I couldn't believe it was that close to it. I just kept looking at it and I knew as soon as I was done, I was going to move that towel away from the flame JUST IN CASE ! Page 78
I just keep staring at the pretty candle and it was really mesmerizing. So when I'm done, I move the towel away and think, ”Wow, I'm glad I did that. I can't imagine how that got so close to the candle. Why would they even put a candle so close to the towels?” I washed my hands and just wanted to feel the warmth from the top of the candle so I put my hand over it just to get that little warm feeling. I got nothing. I couldn't believe it !!!! So I peeked in...........IT WASN'T EVEN A CANDLE! It was one of those battery operated things that LOOKS like a candle. It was so beautiful. I laughed about the whole towel thing. When I got back to the table. I shared the story with my new friends and we all got a laugh out of it.
BUSINESS TIP: Things aren't always what they seem. How many times have you heard that? Sometimes they are worse than they seem and sometimes they are better. I would not take ANYTHING in your business at “eye-level” if I may. What I mean is even if it seems like it is the most natural thing to do, if you have a feeling in your heart that something isn't right, or is better than it seems to be, CHECK IT OUT! Conforming and fitting in is something we all want.( I have to say that’s not usually me, I like to be a little off the norm, if you may) However, in business, It's part of being accepted by your peers, by the community etc... Doing the things that are seemingly right are very important. That does not mean that doing the things that are unconventional, or different from the norm are wrong. If you feel it in your heart, you need to take it as “face value”, “eye-level”, that everyday seemingly normal thing and see if it is better or worse than you thought. If it's better, that's awesome. If it's worse, fix it. No one who ever did anything GREAT just left things as they seem.
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Flush # 46
“Finders Keepers....right?” They say possession is 9/10ths of the law, right? Again, I’d like to know who the heck THEY is. So this is just a short thought provoking page. How many times have you FOUND things in the restroom? AND what do you do when you find it? Just the other day, I was in the restroom at the Mall, and as soon as I walked in there was a brand new I-phone sitting on top of the toilet paper roller. So I’m in the stall yelling out, “Is this anyone’s phone????” I really had to go to the restroom so I figured I would just wait til I was finished and take it over to lost and found. In the meantime, the person that left it came back and is now standing outside the restroom waiting for me to come out. You know those great public restrooms where the doors close yet you have a nice little window on either side of the door. I’m sure she saw me, sitting there, with her phone in my hand. My first thought when I saw the phone, was to call someone from it and tell them I had it while I was waiting to turn it in. Well, I couldn’t figure out how to turn the darn thing on. (and I Page 80
had a blackberry at the time!) It all worked out ok in the end. Think back to things you may have found in the restrooms. Rings, well we know where THAT one has gone. Money, purses, coins, phones, earrings, etc.... Just a thought for you............
BUSINESS TIP: What about that great FIND in your business. Is it the money you found on the floor? Is it the bag someone left behind at the end of the day with something cool in it. OR....... is it that next great idea. What is the FIND for you? If you are an entrepreneur, your wheels are always turning, right? I believe with all of my heart that you have to ACT on a situation. If it’s just some crazy idea, it will probably fizzle out before you get to the next step. However, if it is the next great thing, you will not know this unless you ACT on it. Find that strategic partner, that confidante, that someone with whom you can share your FIND and see where it goes. So maybe you are NOT an entrepreneur and your FIND just comes to you and you discover that next great product or service. You must ACT. All the pieces of the puzzle will eventually come together in their right time. We ALL know we really have no control over that. We just do the best that we can and no one can expect any more than that from you. Take your FIND and make it happen. If nothing else, it will make you stretch, it will make you see where you can go and it will take you and your business to a new place.
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Flush # 47
“Running down your dream....� This story goes back, once again, to a memory of my childhood. Funny the things we remember as we grow up. Think back and see what comes to your mind after you read this one. I remember when I was little that I absolutely HATED using the restroom after my MOM in the morning. I would always wonder why the sink was completely drenched with water. Why I would never be able to AVOID the water when I was there and what I was going to do about it. Well, I did nothing, not knowing any better. I just knew that if I used the restroom after my MOM in the morning that I had to go in with a life-boat . So one day I asked her why the sink was always wet? My Mom proceeded to tell me that when she washes her face, the water rolls down her arms and gets the sink all wet. She hated it too. Sometimes she would wipe it up if it were really bad. (I thought it was always really bad). It was just a thing. So strong of a thing that I remember it to this day. I can even see my Mom washing her face. I know there were times when I saw her do that.
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So one day, when I was older, I had the same thing happen. I couldn’t believe it. The water actually runs down both arms and “puddles up” the entire sink ledge. WHAT is up with that??? I don’t know when I started doing this, but to this day I have a washcloth in the corner of the sink folded like a triangle. I usually try to have it in a bright color. We keep the toothpaste tubes on there but mostly it is there to catch the water running down our arms!
BUSINESS TIP: While you are “running down your dream” in your business, I remind you of this story. What do you do when you have run -off, overflow???? Let’s say you have done all the planning, all the trying, all the doing, all the tips from this book and from other places and now everything is running like clockwork. AWESOME, right? Well, what do you do when you have so much work that it is just overflowing? This is a good problem to have. This is where strategic partnering becomes extremely important. I know we talked about this in one of the other story lines. Here is where I am stressing to you to look up your competitors. You need to figure out a way to work strategically with them together instead of working against and apart from them. This is where learning about each other comes into play as well. There is a certain amount of mutual respect that comes with all territories. (Even for your competition) When I used to have the mobile Disc Jockey business, there were times when many people I knew in the same business had an overflow of work. ( including myself) I remember hiring other D.J.’s to work shows under my banner. By the same token, I worked shows for other D.J.’s under their banner. Of course each type of business is different. Taking all that into consideration, fundamentals of ANY business are the same. Large and small businesses start out with the same basic needs. Other things come into play as business grows and develops, however, building a support system with your competition is healthy and can save your neck when you have your dream running down your arm.
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Flush #48
“Everyday Relatables”..... Now it’s time to think back on your own experiences. Take a moment to chuckle over the things we can relate to off the tops of our heads. I think this mostly applies to women. I’m not really sure, however, if the guys will get a little chuckle too (some of these we even had full stories about). The toilet paper stuck to the shoe. The toilet seat covers stuck to you, or better yet, not staying on the seat. My favorite is when the air is blowing so hard that each time you try to put the seat cover on the seat, it blows off. Just when you think you’ve got it, fast and furious, you sit down and the seat cover still winds up on the floor. Outside restrooms of the local swim clubs are always fun too. I’m sure you remember the wet paper towels. The slippery wet floors and puddles. I also love the little pools of water on the edges of the sink. You know if you timed it right, your sleeves would always get the better of those little pools....or is that the other way around. What about when you are wearing a long skirt or a cape that is part of your outfit? How often do you wind up with part of it in the toilet? How about the paper towels that don’t want to come out of the rollers! You can play with that darn thing til your face turns blue and you might get one little sliver of a paper towel that winds up on the floor. Page 84
The empty toilet paper rollers Here’s one the guys can relate to, the shirt ends stuck in the zipper. Gotta have fun with that one. There’s also the paper towel that is hanging down for you to pull and you wind up with about 100 of them coming out! Nowadays you have some of those paper towels just waiting for you. You pull one off and it automatically re-sets! Have to mention the air dryers too. When I used to close the nightclubs, my friends and I would use the air dryers as hair dryers! ( Drying our necks from sweating on the dance floor) Can you relate to that one? Now, the dryers are “Super Air Dryers” so you stick your hands under them and you get blown back five feet! As Art pointed out to me, you can actually see your skin blowing around under those things. Paper seat covers/protectors that are put in upside down...and the signs say, ‘PULL UP THEN PULL DOWN’. Well what do you do when they are already upside down? Ok guys, why is there never a line in the men’s room? What about when you flush the toilet and it starts rising? Do you just run out of the stall? Stalls with no hooks on them for your “stuff”. Or better yet, what they call purse holders....can you fit your purse in those things? So do you look for the stalls that have the seats already up? (Now, I know we talked about that one !!!) This time, I mean that you know the toilets were just cleaned! I hope you can get a chuckle out of these or at least think back to a time when that happened to your or someone you know.
BUSINESS TIP: Learn to laugh at things. Laughter is the best medicine. Learn from your mistakes, as my Dad always said, then go back and fix them . This is good for your soul. When you can laugh at life’s little moments, you find you don’t take yourself so seriously and the move forward is just a little easier.
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FLUSH # 49
“Toss it to the wind” Here I am coming off the airport ramp on the way to a business conference. Great stories when traveling. Let me start by saying that my ears don’t do as well on flights as I do. I have a routine for them. I have to do this routine all the time I fly. Most of the time it works pretty well. First, When I get settled in my seat, I pull out the gum. I have to chew the gum constantly. The only time I’m not chewing is if I close my eyes (and most of the time the gum is still in my mouth) or if I get a drink from the flight attendant. That also gives me a reason to get a new piece of gum! Now prior to even boarding the plane, I have to tear off a little corner of tissue and put some in each ear. I do this way ahead of time so that I can adjust to the way I hear and also I’m ready to go. My hair covers my ears so that part of it is easily hidden. Now remember, I have to tear off just that right amount of “corner” of the tissue so it fits in my ear comfortably and with enough coverage of my ear. This helps with the ear popping, ear pain, etc. It worked very well this time around. That is my plane ritual. So now we are ready to land. I’m feeling pretty good. I take my gum and roll it around in the wrapper. Of course, I have to keep the wrapper handy so I can discard the gum! I’m now leaving the plane and for some reason I still have the wrapper, Page 86
with the gum in it, in my hands. Now mind you, I’ve been chewing this piece of gum since after the tomato juice (got a new stick of gum then). Needless to say, it’s been a little while. I guess over an hour that I’m chewing this one. I guess I just didn’t see a trash bag anywhere upon the departure from the plane. I’m now walking down the airport ramp. I make it to the waiting or gate area and I look around for a restroom. I proceed to the restroom with my carry on bag and my purse. I wheel my carry on bag into the small stall with me. That’s a job in itself and I have to do it with a wad of gum in my hand. I get all situated and I proceed to throw the gum into the trash receptacle right next to the stall. As I open the little flap of the receptacle and throw in my gum (that I’m extremely glad to finally get out of my hands), I see it fall to the floor in the stall next to me. NO FREAKING CONTAINER IN THE RECEPTACLE!!!!. It just went into the open air and went right onto the floor. I just busted out laughing and continued to do so for several minutes.
BUSINESS TIP: Take all these things in. You can make everything seem perfect on a project from start to finish. You are sure that you have dotted all the “i’s” and crossed all the “t’s” and yet one little thing could send you into a tizzy! Hopefully, it will be something that will make you stop and laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself or your business too seriously. You have to learn to roll with punches and I think we mentioned that somewhere before. That doesn’t mean you should take things so lightly that you have no plan. You need a plan. I know there is some kind of being, force, energy or whatever that is bigger than we are and that their PLAN is bigger than we are . It may even be a plan for us we are not aware of. All the things we do lead us to where we are right now. I truly believe that is the way we have to live. That we have little regret in our lives and we understand that things happen for a bigger reason....a bigger plan. BUT YOU HAVE TO START WITH A PLAN. So don’t let all the perfect planning get you when one thing screws up the flow. Just fix it and move on. Learn to adapt and adjust. Who knows, that one little hiccup may make the plan better when you adapt and adjust. Think on your feet. Have your plan, work your plan and leave room for a glitch just in case. Oh yes, always make sure to laugh when the trash falls onto the floor in the next stall.
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Flush # 50
“The dancing bear” So this time we are in gorgeous New York City. We were there to walk around and visit the tree. It was holiday time. Lots of people walking around the city. (Although now that’s always the case). If you have ever been to New York City at holiday time, you know how crowded it can get. Art, Brie and I were headed back to our car and we really needed to find a restroom. We decided to find one more stop to check out so we could use a facility there. You know there are no restrooms just sitting on the sidewalks of New York!....... or so we thought...... We come around the corner and there is a strange line going into this building. It’s roped off kind of like that of a red carpet. At the entrance to the building is a man ringing a bell. On the building is some huge sign that reads CHARMIN EXPERIENCE. “What the heck is that?”, I thought. We moved closer to the line and figured out that people were standing in line to use a restroom, in a building, with CHARMIN, and what????? So I ask the guy with the bell what is going on. He tells me to get in line and use the restroom. He was cheery and friendly. Well we really had to use the restroom so we got in the line! As the line moved into the doorway, you would not believe what we saw. Let me see if I can set it up so you can just get a glimpse. We enter this huge area where in front of us, on one side, is a flowing line going up an escalator. On the other side is the same line coming down. Up at the top we can see the DANCING BEAR. That is the Dancing CHARMIN bear. Off to the right of us is a huge screen with a global map on it and stars on the map showing all the places the CHARMIN EXPERIENCE is stopping or has stopped that year. I thought it was really cool that one of the stops was a little Island known as TONGA. Tonga has a place in my heart for they are a village that is known for nutritional healing. Their people have lived a long time without many diseases. That little Island brings a lot of information to the Western World. I have been studying and using some of the lessons from the Tongan Island. So back to the map. I couldn’t believe the whole set up. My mouth was to the floor. As we moved up the escalator I hear singing and clapping and of course, see the DANCING BEAR doing his thing. Dancing that is.... He is dancing with people, cheering with people and encouraging people on the escalators. Others are singing, and even others are clapping. There are attendants all dressed alike that are spraying the stalls of restrooms as people leave them. Then they are making a “show” like experience for the next person to enter and USE the restroom stall. The attendants were also singing and having others sing along with them.There had to be about 12-15 stalls set up in sort of a semi-circle. People were dancing and cheering, it was a crazy Page 88
good experience. When I got into the stall I was led to, I found it to be immaculate. Painted beautifully, clean and inviting. (That’s funny for a restroom stall) If you find the CHARMIN EXPERIENCE in YOUR town, be sure to stop and check it out. That is a restroom experience that will remain in my mind forever. It was such a positive and fun time there. I still can’t believe it was just waiting there for us, when we really needed to use the restroom.
BUSINESS TIP: If nothing else, you need to make your business inviting. You need to keep your staff happy and safe. You need to make sure things don’t get dull and boring. No one wants to work in a dull or boring environment. Many big companies today are bringing in fitness trainers, motivational speakers, doing something that makes the employees or staff happy and satisfied to be there. Set the tone. The ball inevitably comes back to you at the top. Make your workplace a great place to work. There are speakers that will tell you to “Do something unexpected” to retain a client. The same goes for retaining your staff. Keep it fresh and make your place of business a place that is respected because you in turn give respect. I feel that a lot of big businesses today miss the fact that their front line employees or staff are the very first encounter that the customer has. It is important that those people feel as special as as anyone else on your team. It doesn’t matter if you have a big business, a small business, a work from home.... it just doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is that you make whomever is working with you feel important, feel respected and whatever space they work in is inviting. Maybe your staff doesn’t work in a “work-space”. Maybe they work from home or from the road. Use your mind and figure out what you can do to make a difference for that person. Maybe it’s a phone call. Maybe it’s a surprise at their next stop. Maybe it’s a special bonus for doing a good job. (and I don’t mean money....THAT should come automatically) Maybe it’s something to make their family feel good. You have to decide. That is part of YOUR job. If you want to reap the benefits of having your business, you need to give in order to receive. How many times have we heard that one? It is so true in your business, just as it is in life. Do something that is larger than life. Give your employees/staff a CHARMIN EXPERIENCE.
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FLUSH # 51
“The Gum has landed” So here I am coming off the airport ramp on the way to a business conference. Great stories when traveling. Let me start by saying that my ears don’t do as well on flights as I do. I have a routine for them. I have to do this routine all the time I fly. Most of the time it works pretty well. First, When I get settled in my seat, I pull out the gum. I have to chew the gum constantly. The only time I’m not chewing is if I close my eyes (and most of the time the gum is still in my mouth) or if I get a drink from the flight attendant. That also gives me a reason to get a new piece of gum ! Now prior to even boarding the plane, I have to tear off a little corner of tissue and put some in each ear. I do this way ahead of time so that I can adjust to the way I hear and also I’m ready to go. My hair covers my ears so that part of it is easily hidden. Now remember, I have to tear off just that right amount of “corner” of the tissue so it fits in my ear comfortably and with enough coverage of my ear. This helps with the ear popping, ear pain, etc.... It worked very well this time around. THAT is my plane ritual. So now we are ready to land. I’m feeling pretty good. I take my gum and roll it around in the wrapper. Of course , I have to keep the wrapper handy so I can discard
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the gum ! So now I’m leaving the plane and for some reason I still have the wrapper, with the gum in it, in my hands. Now mind you, I’ve been chewing this piece of gum since after the tomato juice ( got a new stick of gum then). Needless to say , it’s been a little while. I guess over an hour that I’m chewing this one. I guess I just didn’t see a trash bag anywhere upon the departure from the plane. I’m now walking down the airport ramp. I make it to the waiting or gate area and I look around for a restroom. I proceed to the restroom with my carry on bag and my purse. I wheel my carry on bag into the small stall with me. That’s a job in itself and I have to do it with a wad of gum in my hand. I get all situated and I proceed to throw the gum into the trash receptacle right next to the stall. As I open the little flap of the receptacle and throw in my gum (that I’m extremely glad to finally get out of my hands), I see it fall to the floor in the stall next to me. NO FREAKING CONTAINER IN THE RECEPTACLE !!!!. It just went into the open air and went right onto the floor. Well, I just busted out laughing and continued to do so for several minutes.
BUSINESS TIP: Take all these things in. You can make everything seem perfect on a project from start to finish. You are sure that you have dotted all the “i’s” and crossed all the “t’s” and yet one little thing could send you into a tizzy ! Hopefully, it will be something that will make you stop and laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself or your business too seriously. You have to learn to roll with punches and I think we mentioned that somewhere before. That doesn’t mean you should take things so lightly that you have no plan. You need a plan. I know there is some kind of being, force, energy or whatever that is bigger than we are and that their PLAN is bigger than we are . It may even be a plan for us we are not aware of. All the things we do lead us to where we are right now. I truly believe that is the way we have to live. That we have little regret in our lives and we understand that things happen for a bigger reason....a bigger plan. BUT YOU HAVE TO START WITH A PLAN. So don’t let all the perfect planning get you when one thing screws up the flow. Just fix it and move on. Learn to adapt and adjust. Who knows, that one little hiccup may make the plan better when you adapt and adjust. Think on your feet. Have your plan, work your plan and leave room for a glitch just in case. Oh yes, always make sure to laugh when the trash falls onto the floor in the next stall.
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Flush # 53
“Knock on the door” This time I am at a workshop in Olney Maryland, just outside of the D.C. area. I really enjoyed this workshop and I got to meet new people in a new area. At the end of the workshop, I step out to use the restroom. I wanted to chat with one of the speakers so on my way out of the room, I had grabbed by business card holder..... Now I’m heading towards the restroom with my shiny silver business card holder in hand. I get into the stall and sit the little business card holder on the ledge of the toilet seat cover holder (also a shiny silver color). Can you guess? Yep, I left the stall and went all the way back to the conference room, sat down and realized that I left the business cards on the ledge. Shiny siliver on shiny silver..... LOL So I head back to the restroom to retrieve it. We had 15 people roughly at this workshop tucked away in a beautiful country club. I really didn’t worry about the cards not being there in the 5 minutes I was away from the restroom.
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So let me lay out the restroom for you. It was a long room with about 7 or 8 stalls in it. The doors were like window blinds, wooden that went from top of the stall to the bottom. ( so you couldn’t look under and see if there were feet ! ) What there was where the handles were, was a little curved sign that said “VACANT” or “OCCUPIED” ..... So now I walk into the restroom, all is quiet and of all the stalls there, every single one of them had a vacant sign posted in the handle...........except...........you guessed it..........the stall that I was in. Can you believe it? That alone was just cracking me up. So what do I do? I knock on the door..... “Excuse me”, I said, “I believe I left my cards on the ledge in there.....” I then said, “I’ll wait, you can just bring them out when you are done. “ So we both got a laugh out of the fact that all the other stalls were empty except the one my cards were in.
BUSINESS TIP: You have to be able to ask for what you need. You can not be afraid to ask for things. The worst that could happen is that someone tells you No, or they can’t help you or whatever.... Usually, you can get what it is you need to find or at least if it is something hard to get, you can get the next step in finding it. For many people, especially Women, it seems to be difficult to ask for what we need. Good for you if you have already mastered that. Practice. Learn to ask. Knock on doors if they are closed...........knock on them until one opens for you. If you know me, you know exactly how I feel about doors opening and you giving yourself permission to go through and enjoy the experience.
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Flush # 54
“Don't let go....� I guess it all started when I was very little. I used to love taking road trips with my family. We used to drive to Florida from New York, and eventually from New Jersey, and had interesting adventures along the way. Maybe that's why I love driving today and taking long road trips. (makes everything feel like an adventure) Maybe that's why I started having wonderful, funny, and memorable experiences in public restrooms. I was about 4 years old, I think, and the whole family was on this trip. It was my Mom, My Dad, my Sister and myself that I can remember. Sometimes on these trips we had another person with us too, either my Grandmother, my Aunt or a cousin. On this trip, I'm not quite sure how many were with us but I remember hearing and telling this story over and over again. Guess this is the one that started it all. My Mom, my Sister and myself are in the restroom. Remember I was really little so Mom went with me to the restroom. My Sister is seven years older than me so if I were 4 she would have been 11 so Mom still went with us on occasion. On this PARTICULAR occasion, I was taking a little longer on the toilet than anyone was willing to wait for. I remember my Mom fixing her hair in the mirror and my Sister imitating the same behind her. I was on the..... well you know by now. My tiny hand was holding onto the sink and I was just watching.....waiting. My Sister was holding my hand onto the sink like glue. My Mom finally wanted to go back to her seat and finish her meal or whatever, just wanted out of the restroom now. She instructed my big Sister to make sure she held my hand that was on the sink. I was very little and at that time, the seats in the restrooms were a lot bigger than I was. So Mom leaves the restroom leaving my Sister in Charge. Love you, Sis, but that was the mistake right there. My Big Sister, who loved teasing me and tickling me and just having fun, decided she was going to go back to her seat too. So she let go of my hand that was still holding onto the sink and left me there. The next thing I remember is seeing my feet in the air. Yep, you guessed it. I fell in !!!!!! Hearing the story again later in life, my Mom always said that she could hear me screaming from her table. Well, there you have it. Probably the most uncomfortable swim I ever took. Today, My parents would be smiling from above knowing that I am completing this long awaited segment of my life. They would be laughing at me retelling the tale of falling into the toilet. My Sister, well she still likes to be in charge. I Do too. It's a given right for us to be in charge! To this day, My Sister is great and we do really look out for each other. Page 94
BUSINESS TIP: So my advice for your business. DIVE RIGHT IN! Stay focused. Stay strong and Live out your dreams well! You must have heard the expression “Dream Big”. Do it! Don't just dream to hit the ceiling in your house or apartment and then wonder why it came so easily. DREAM BIG! “Don't let go of your vision.” The only one that can make things happen is YOU. You determine how you react to things, how you react to what is put in front of you and how you come away from that instance. This story tells us, as we should all know by now, everything that happens in your life, is the stepping stone to where you are. Now go find a FLUSH, a laugh, a time for you and be successful knowing that you can be.
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