Happy Mother's Day

I was out shopping with my kids for my wife Jody for Mother's Day and ran across one of my neighbors and his child shopping for a card for his wife. He seemed almost surprised that we put the same effort into shopping for Mother's Day as we do Christmas and Mommy's Birthday.

I guess that between having 1 child and he and his wife both working and sharing a good bit of the childcare and household stuff (he cooks, cleans and is a very involved father), they had reduced Mother's Day to a "card holiday." Too bad. In my mind, that doesn't reduce the importance of Mother's Day, it just gives a little more depth to the celebration of Father's Day since he really does do more than most fathers I know.

Any way, in our house, with 6 kids (all home schooled by my stay-at-home wife), Mother's Day is pretty much one of the sacred holidays of the year ;-) It's off to church, then a brunch at one of her favorites - The Captain and The Cowboy in nearby Apopka - then home for a relaxing afternoon/evening.

Of course, I'm always reminded of something my buddy and former pastor, Dan Plourde used to always say on Mother's Day to his wife... "Honey, it's Mother's Day. You don't touch the dirty dishes or pans! They'll be there in the morning for you ;-)" (kidding of course ... he is a happily married man with 7 kids).

Well, off to shower and get Caleb (our 2 year old) ready for church. It's nice that the others can all dress themselves appropriately at  this point.

Have a super Mother's Day everyone!

All the Best,

Thom

Too Much Truth in Advertising?

Okay, so you know by now that we've got this event coming up June 19-21 in Orlando. I've been so fixated on making sure the event will be incredibly dynamic and life-changing, that I've been my own worst marketer and am off schedule by almost 3 weeks ... YIKES! (I know, I know... the plumber with leaky pipes)

But, at least I CAN say that the event itself is going to be AWESOME! I've got 14 truly amazing experts including Billionaire entrepreneur, Bill Bartmann. And, best of all -- beyond having great information and giving me their solid pledge that they will be sharing solid, immediately applicable content, they ALSO all have the right heart. These ladies and gentlemen truly want to help others learn from their successes and  challenges to break through to new levels of success.

My goal is that we don't just help our participants improve profits, but that we also help them envision and begin building a real legacy! To me, that's the really important stuff - the things we build, the people we touch and the example we leave. Those things last whether or not anyone 2 generations from now even remembers our names. That is truly leaving your thumbprint on the world!

Sorry for the rambling ... Can you tell I'm excited about this?

In any case, while I still consider myself a marketer, I've really taken my marketing hat off for this event. I'm not even going to be one of the expert speakers at my own event. And, the letter I wrote for the web site is probably the most frank, non-salesy thing I've ever written in business. 

It is my deep desire to present the unvarnished truth about this event and not come off like some "hucksters" that hype seminars which wind up being "pitchfests."  Of course, that leaves me feeling a little nervous. I KNOW what to expect when I write a standard sales letter for a client. Though I would NEVER lie in a sales letter or ad copy, I most definitely use techniques (just like sales professionals often do) to guide the audience and take action.

I have no clue whether a completely honest and open discussion about Extreme Business Makeovers and what people can realistically expect is going to be effective in making sure there is a full audience there to benefit from it. My secret fear (I guess not so secret NOW) is that I removed so much of the sizzle that people who visit the site won't see just how incredible the steak itself is. I gotta say ... I DO feel good about it though.  I know that people who show up are going to get EXACTLY what they expect and possibly more, instead of wondering whether or not we overhyped and attracted people who have get rich quick (and without effort) mentality.

I'd definitely like to know what you think! If you visit http://www.ExtremeBusinessMakeovers.com you can read my letter and all about the event and see what I'm talking about concerning the unvarnished truth.

Oh.. and since you've taken the time to read my posting, I'll even give you a little gift if you want to come to Extreme Business Makeovers yourself. If you put in the coupon code SUCCESS in the Coupon Code box on the Checkout page, you'll get $100 off the ticket price - EVEN off the Advanced ticket price.

Okay that's it ... sorry for the long posting again. I think I'm getting the hang of this whole sharing from the heart thing, but still working on keeping it brief! ;-)

All the Best,

Thom

Tricked By God

Have you ever had one of those times when God used circumstances to trick you into something that you might not have done if you were given the choice up front?

That happened to me last week. Here, I had gone with Jody to see a counselor at church about our oldest kids ... no major issues, just thinking they may benefit from being able to blow some steam about parents, life, etc... with an impartial outsider ... and, wanting to make sure we're striking the right balance between grace-filled and authoritarian parenting.

Well, it started off weird as the counselor looked at the waiting area and was a bit surprised because they don't usually take two people at once. Jody had heard that the counselor wanted us both there - when really what was said was that they wanted to see both of us as well (not meaning at the same time).

However, it turned out to be a God thing since our time there together revealed some mutual resentments and hurts that had been shoved under the carpet years ago and not dealt with. 

And, then another God thing ... apparently, the person in the slot right after us was finishing up their counseling THAT week, so that slot would now be available.

So... you guessed it. For the next several weeks, Jody and I will have back to back counseling sessions - first apart dealing with the muck in our own closets and then together, tuning up our communications and conflict resolution skills... a pretty cool thing to do before our 19th Anniversary which is coming up in August!

My point? If someone had suggested that I go in for counseling and that Jody and I have a little marriage counseling, I probably would have rebuffed saying that this isn't the right time with our annual Extreme Business Makeovers event coming up and that Jody and I are fine since we're not having any major issues and no one is running for the escape hatch. I guess I still could have said "no," but I've learned my lesson from other times God re-ordered my steps. Nope, God had to trick me on this one and I'm glad He did.

I think of the verse in Proverbs (16:9) where it says, "In his heart a man plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps."

How cool is that? He allows us to be the big goal setters for our lives ... what's the way we want to go? (ie... I want a lifelong and healthy marriage) But, since His ways our higher than our ways, He often changes the path that we take to get there. If we fight the circumstances that He allows to come our way that change our path, we tend to muck things up. But, when we start to see those things as coming from Him and look for how they fit in with our big goals, everything falls into place without strain and striving.

Has God ever tricked you? Are you open to it when He tries?

All the Best,

Thom

(Note: I promised more open and heartfelt postings ... hope this helps you when I share openly like this. It's not the most comfortable thing in the world to share the "behind closed doors" world with a ton of other people. But, there are plenty of places you can go for expert type articles. I'm no expert ... just a fellow "pilgrim" in business and in life!)