Wednesday,6-3

Spent most of my time today reading sample Emails and the training manual. There were no other changes.

bzm: Thanks for the encouraging words and yes, I will see if I can talk to Andrea. That's a good idea..I hope Sandi wasn't caught of guard on the training call. Sounded like she was put on the spot.

Tom

Wednesday,6-3

Tuesday 6/2

Had a good meeting with NPO. He is interested but... The bottom line here is he wants to talk to an NPO that is already benefiting from our services. The good news is, he wants to be convinced, he has left the door open for me to convince him.

bzm: Thanks for the good wishes.

Tom

Monday 6/1

Tomorrow is my meeting with a new NPO. I will let you know tomorrow night how it went.

bzm: Thanks for the encouragement from your end.

Tom

Friday 5/29

When I got home tonight, Laura was watching the history channel. I very impressed to see the director of one of the NPOs I am working with being interviewed. Gave me a good feeling.

Tom

Thursday 5/28

Worked all day, not much got done on MPM.

bzm: Glad you liked my thoughts on 90 days. You will receive may blessings if you work with nature.

Tom

Wednesday, 5/27

Greetings all, I had a great holiday. I even got a lot done.

I am happy to report that I did my follow ups, and helped Laura with her MPM. Best news is an NPO I have talked to several times and haven't been able to reach for the last month, I finally connected with. The director has agreed to meet with me next week.

Tom

Friday

I have had a series of problems with my Internet service. It all began when the power flickered and threw the circuit breaker. It took a while to figure this out. Once discovered we restored power and all was fine for a while. then we lost service again. We spent two hours on the phone with a technician. We were not able to restore the service. Then, mysteriously, the service suddenly came back.

Needless to say, I haven't been posting tom my blog in the absence of the Internet service. there isn't much to catch up on other than I have spent some time working on the Earth Angel project and I have been following up with my NPOs.

bzm: Thank you for acknowledging that we have warm weather here as well as cold weather.

Tom

Tuesday

I know you would all like to hear about my MPM day but first, I 'm going to tell you about the weather. Here in Minnesota we are very proud of our weather and we like to talk about it a lot. Please indulge me for a minute. Today we broke an all time temperature record--it got up to 97 here in the city. The temp never got that high all year last year. In northern Minnesota, the high was only 40 today and in southern Minnesota the high was 100 today.

I had a good day today, I made lots of follow up calls to my NPOs. I also talked on the training call about Earth Angels. Just to let you know how this works, my Earth Angel, a very special angel, helped me set up my blog so that I can follow other people's blogs. I have never seen anyone else's blog--not because I don't care about other people's blogs, I do. I haven't read anyone Else's blog because up until today, I didn't know how to get in. My Earth Angel helped me get set up so that I can follow other's blogs. Thanks Earth Angel.

If anyone reading this would like some help from an Earth Angel, please contact us. We are here to help you grow your business. If something is standing in the way of you growing your business, we want to help you remove it. Again, it does not have to be an MPM issue--if you need help, we are here to help you.

Lastly, I am happy to say that we made another purchase on our mall today.

Tom

Long Monday

I had planned to get some follow up calls in this morning before I went to work but that didn't happen. I also hoped to get my MPM order in--that didn't happen either. Planning for a better day tomorrow.

Also planning to be on the call tomorrow.

Tom

Friday Follow up

Today was my long day at work so nothing got done on MPM after work. However, I did get some follow up calls in this morning before I went to work.

Tom

Thursday

Had a whole bunch of personal things to do today when I got home from work. There was little time for MPM. However, one of those things was to make a significant purchase from our mall. We did do that tonight. I am still working on my book purchase.

Tom

Progress

I am happy to say that I did follow ups with my NPOs today. Unfortunately, one of them has decided to put off taking any action until fall. Their busiest time is in the summer and they don't want to start any new projects at this time.

I have also found a new NPO to work with. I have not done my research yet but I have some good ideas that I think they might like.

Tom

Tuesday

Went to an NPO meeting this morning. I participated in their fund raising breakfast. I didn't get to talk to the people I had hoped to talk to. I did however get to cement relationships with three others who will have a say so in the end.

bzm: Thanks for the encouraging words about B&N. I will probably end up there.

Tom

Another long day

Yes, today was another long day so not much got done on MPM. I did spend some more time on my MMPM. Like any one else, I don't like to pay any more than necessary. In this case I am buying number of books and I am trying to figure out whether it will cost more to buy new books or used books. Some new books have free shipping, some don't. None of the used books is coming from the same place so all have some freight. If I take the time to research, I might be able to find two books from the same source. In some cases the used books with freight cost less than new books that are freight free. Also, if I don't buy enough new books (my budget will not allow me to buy all of the books new) the freight will not be free on the new books either. I have got several hours into this order already. That's way too much time.

Last week I said I would spend some time on the training call talking about the Earth Angel Program. Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to make tomorrows training call. I will try to be on next weeks call.

Tom

Long Day

today is one of two long days that I have. After work I spent my time on putting together an order for purchase from MPM. I spent a lot more time on it than I should have and the order is still not ready.

Tom

Spending on the mall

Tonight Laura and I spent my MPM time discussing what we buy and how we can buy more of what we buy on our mall. We came up with some creative ideas which I will be happy to share, later. We did conclude that we don't buy much other than gas, groceries, and mortgage. We use American Express in those places that take it.
We also discussed ways to devote more time to growing our business and helping the people on our team. Time seems to be a critical issue for us.

Tom

Diversion

Today I had a little diversion. My phone is very important to me in my MPM work and it stopped working this week. I tried everything to get it to work but I think it's time has come--time to go to the happy hunting ground for phones. I can get along without a fancy phone with all the bells and whistles, my current phone does not take pictures, can not text, can not do Internet, and the screen is in black and white. However, in order to do my MPM work, I do need a phone. Today I drew the line and diverted three hours of my MPM time to finding a phone that would function for me.

bzm: Again, thanks for the kind words. I will try to be on the Tuesday calls and even though I am "a man of few words" I will participate when ever I can. I will even pass along what little knowledge I have, even if it isn't about NPOs. And lest it pass by un-noticed, great job on the call yourself!

Tom

Refreshed

Got a good night's sleep and I feel refreshed. Today i was able to be on the call. I due to scheduling at my day job, the only call I can make is the Tuesday one. It seems like every Tuesday there is some place I have to be so that I can not be on the call. Today everything worked out and I could be on the call. Not only on it, the "man of few words" was asked to identify himself and talk. I did not say anything about Earth Angels but apparently I should have. Next time I will make it a point to talk about Earth Angels.

Tom

Bushed!

I know that I am supposed to be reporting my advancements in MPM on this blog. Today I did some yoard work before I left for regular work. I left at 10:00 AM With the exception of a 16 minute break for luch, I ran all day. I got home at ten minutes to ten PM at which time I made some supper.

I did not make any progress on MPM today so I am not reporting any.

I am bushed and I am going to bed.

Tom

Ooops!

I thought last night was Saturday night so I didn't post a blog. Sorry! Even though I don't do blogs on the week end, I will do one tonight since I missed last night.

I had a long hard day today and I didn't do anything on MPM.

bzm: Thanks for the good wishes on my health. I need to do more research on this NPO. All of the things that they support, that I have been able to find out about, I support. While they are an actual NPO, I am not convinced, yet, that their organizational set up is one that I can work with.

Tom

Feeling better

I don't know what hit me last night. All I know is that it hit fast and hard. I was read to post my blog and just that fast I felt terrible.

I feel much better tonight. In fact I even did some research on an NPO that I am considering contacting. While I am sure their mission fits well with my criteria, I am still not convinced that the organization is a good match for me. I have got more research to do before I can make a final decision to go ahead and contact them.

bzm: Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. I am sure they aided in my fast recovery.

Tom

Out Sick

I had a really good day, finished all but one thing in the project I was working on yesterday.

However, in the last few minutes I have taken sick. No, it is not the H2-N2. I just don't feel well, actually, I feel pretty bad. I will be better by morning.

Tom

Special Project

I spent the entire day and night working on a special project.

Tom

Monday 4/27

Once again, today was my long day at work, I did not get home until after nine PM. I am happy to say that work went well, in fact better than expected. I had a great day. Now that I have told you what a great day I had, I have to say that because I worked late I missed an important meeting that I was supposed to be at tonight and I did not get much done on MPM.In fact the only thing that got done on MPM was to discuss some emails with my wife.

sw: Congrats on the new birth.

Tom

Friday,4, 24

Worked late, overtime, and have to be in for an early morning meeting tomorrow. Nothing done on MPM today.

Tom

Short

I continue to make progress on my priorities.

bzm: I had a good day, I wouldn't call it splendid though.

Tom

One of those days

Today was one of those days that happen every so often. I had non MPM appointments, my wife had a honey do list, and when they were all done, it was the end of the day and nothing got done on MPM. That's the way it is when you have one of those days.

I'm not complaining, I had a super day, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I just did not get the MPM things done that I had planned.

bzm: Thanks for all those nice things you said. (!#$%^&* ?---I was just thinking about Kokopelli).

Tom

Tuesday

I contacted the new NPO from the lead I got yesterday. They are in the midst of their big fund raiser which will be held on April 30th. I talked to the man in charge and he was interested but wants to hold off for a week until the fund raiser is over. He asked that I call him the first week in May to set up an appointment.

I also took some time to review some basic MPM things. You may find it suprising but I had never seen the together We Can Change the World web site until today. I am just now tasking the time to look at these things.
The highlight of my day was communicating with my Earth Angel. If you don't have one, you should get one.

bzm: Thank you.

Tom

Improvement

I am happy to report, although anything that has to do with the Internet is taboo at my work, an NPO lead came to me at work. It goes to show that if you are looking for leads and if you believe they will come to you, THEY WILL!

I will follow up this lead to morrow and let you all know what happens. At this stage it is only a lead but again I say, if you believe it will develop, IT WILL!

bzm: I am counting on that angel to make an appearance.

Tom

Decision

After a good nights rest I awoke with a decision. I hope everything is as I believe it is. If that is the case, then I have made the best decision. In any event, the decision has been made, the paper work turned in, and it is off from my desk.

bzm: Thanks for your comments. May be an an angel can help me eliminate some of those fires.

Tom

After a day at work, I spent the evening trying to figure out the new health care package. there are three options, each one a little more expensive than the previous one. The information given on the options is helpful but there are many questions that are unanswered. Whether there are questions or not, I must make a decision by tomorrow morning as to which option I am taking. It is very frustrating trying to make a decision without important information. Which ever option I pick will be locked in tomorrow and money will start coming out of my check. I will not be able to change it for a period of one year.

bzm: thanks for the kind words about my trip.

sw: Thanks for the information on time management. I have checked out the site and found that I have too many fires--I will have to eliminate some.

Tom

Trip

I am happy to report that I had a successful trip. I was able to present MPM to one individual. He indicated that his wife would be the person to talk to. The jury is still out as to whether there will be any future action here.

Quite by accident, I was able to make a presentation to two organizations. The first, a foundation that my wife has been working with for some time but with little results. Not that I did any better, but I did find out names of other people to contact who might be more supportive. The second, an NPO which fits into my criteria for cause but is a little out of my range for distance. Since this is a cause i want to fight for, I assured myself before making the presentation that I would be willing to go the distance to make this work. They have had two fund raisers and have been unable to raise the funds necessary for them to go forward with a project. I spoke with the person in charge and he is interested in more funds no matter where they come from. However, he is not interested in doing any more work. He is completely tapped out from the two fund raisers he has done and they have just had some staff reductions and he has had to take on some additional responsibilities. I tried to assure him that the work he would have to do would be very little. I am not sure he is convinced but he did agree to meet a gain. Normally, I would have scheduled the next meeting at this time but since this NPO is out of my 30 mile radius I did not know when I could get back so I did not schedule the next meeting. i will however, follow up with an email to set something up.

Tom

Tuesday

I am going out of town tomorrow and may not be at a computer to post my blog. I will be talking to some people about MPM while I am gone. these will be individuals, not NPOs.

I will keep you posted when I return.

Tom

Monday

The week is off to a great start! I did really well at work today. It was a very long day, 14 hours, and it did not leave any time for MPM.

I had a great Easter yesterday, even got to talk to two people about MPM. They have more interest now that they are seeing some money come in.

I believe things are going to move a little faster from now on. Its' a good thing and it's been a long time in coming.

Hope you all had a great Easter,

Tom

Good Friday

Today was my long day at work. I am happy to say, I had a good day. Things went reasonably well. On the other hand, I got home late and did not have any time for MPM. I am sure once this holiday gets over, I can get back to a more normal routine.

May you all have a happy Easter!

Tom

Easter week

I am in slow mode these days, I think it is because it is Easter Week and I believe I should be concentrating on Easter. None-the-less, I have agreed to write this blog and I am doing just that. I have nothing new to report on MPM. It seems I have a time management problem. I worked at my job all day, when I got home I made my supper, and cleaned up the kitchen. I then immediately went to my computer and answered my emails. I have not been getting enough sleep so I made it a goal to get seven hours of sleep a night. To get seven hours of sleep I need to be in bed by 11:30. It is now11:45, I have just finished the emails and have started my blog.

It is clear, I am not going to get seven hours tonight. Does anyone else have this time management problem? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Tom

Full moon

It's a Full Moon tonight. In light of the fact, no pun intended, I am going to leave you to get your enlightenment form the moon instead of from my blog tonight.

Tom

Tuesday 4/7

bzm: Yes Earth Angels is like T-Day, and yes, it is more frequent than once a month. However, I think the most important component is the fact that it is the MPMers who get to be helped. As you well know, they need help and support just as much as anyone else. I am glad Earth Angels is here to give that help.

Tom

Monday 4/6--Earth Angels

Yes, it is Monday, another nine hour shift. I have been giving some thought to the Earth Angel project these past few days. It seems to have taken on a life of its' own and with very little encouragement from me. Now that it is started, and I am happy to say it is working, some parameters as to what it does or is supposed to do should be in place before we mislead people into believing it is something other than what it is.

I have some basic ideas. I know what it has done. Perhaps others have some ideas of what they would like to have it do for them. Nothing is cast in stone yet, I am looking for suggestions. If you don't know what Earth Angels are, post a comment with your question. I will try to answer it in the next blog.

Tom

Another beautiful day

We had sunshine again today. Almost all of our snow is gone--melted away. Of course, we are expecting six more inches just south of us tomorrow--it could drift northward and catch us. I had a great day today and I am grateful. I was in the right frame of mind to receive the many blessings that came my way today.

bzm: I have not thought about the name. When I talked about MPMers helping MPMers I was referring to the concept but it could easily be used for the name.

Tom

A nice day

We've been having a lot of not so nice weather here. Today was a beautiful day. After 3 days o snow and cold we finally had sunshine and warmth. I worked all day so I did not get out in it but it was nice to see the sun shine.
I would like to expand on the angel concept. First, let's add the word "earth" to make it earth angels. My intention is to have a group of MPMers helping each other do things that we don't seem to be getting done by our selves. The term accountability has been suggested. I would prefer not to use that word. It has the connotation of one person being accountable to another and while in practice that may be close to what is happening but I would prefer to look at it as MPMers helping MPMers. We all help each other be accountable to ourselves. This got started because I needed help and I got it. I am very thankful for that help and I want to help others who may need (and want) help.

bzm: I will contact SW. I will be happy to be an earth angel for her. I liked your comparison about the horse and rider.
Tom

Angels

Last night I reported that I had spent all of my MPM time on organizing my office with the intent that it would make me more effective. I can already report that my effectiveness has improved. I can work at my desk, my computer key board has a place to sit flat when I type on it. Until yesterday, my desk had so many piles on it that there was no place for the keyboard-- it had to sit on one of the piles and every time I typed, the keyboard rocked. I was forever correcting mistakes resulting from an unstable key board.

In fact, I was so pleased with the progress in effectiveness that I spent my MPM time again today organizing my office. Please don't get the wrong idea here. At the beginning of boot camp we were advised not to spend time organizing and to get right out and do what we needed to do. This was good advice. Many times people have a fear of starting a new project and they will organize their papers and reorganize them, and analyze them, and shuffle them some more. They organize until the home of the fallen angels freezes over but they never start the project. This is not organizing, this is PROCRASTINATION.

In my case the disorganization which had been building up since the early 1980s had built up to a point that it just had to be dealt with. A comment to yesterdays blog referred to this as "old business". That's exactly what it is, and old business is exactly that--and now it is time to move on. I am sure some of you have some "old business" that is keeping you from moving forward in your MPM business. I was fortunate to have an angle come to my rescue. Perhaps we can be "angels" to each other. If anyone wants more information on how these angels work, please leave a comment after this blog. If there ever was a time us MPMers needed an angel it is now.

bzm: Yes, it is wonderful to be able to spend time organizing my office and it is even more wonderful to have an angel to help me do it. Congratulations on your commitment, perhaps I can be an angel for you.

Tom

Day in the office

With the help of a special angel, I was able to spend my MPM time today organizing my office. I have not been as efficient as I would like to be in working with my current NPOs. The changes made today will enable me to not only be more efficient with my current NPOs but hep me to better serve the NPOs I will work with in the future.

bzm: Take heart, at a certain point in the now, a balance will come where life will not get in the way of the reality you were intended to live.

Tom

Monday, Monday,

I'm sure you all get tired of me talking about the weather here in Minnesota. The weather is very important to us. I understand that in some places the news at six and ten only give two minutes to the weather. Here in Minnesota we give at least ten minutes of every thirty to the weather. Often, we give fifteen to twenty minutes of thirty to the weather. Tonight is one of those nights where the weather is important. Upper Minnesota is looking for ten to fifteen inches of snow to night. That includes Mooerhead Minnesota--it is across the bridge from Fargo. You all hear about the flooding in Fargo, Moorehead is just across the river and experiencing the same flooding as Fargo. The same public employees who should be sand bagging and rescuing stranded residents have been pulled of f from those duties to plow the new snow so that emergency vehicles can get through the roads.

You are probably wondering, isn't MPM important to me? Yes it is. Yesterday I spent a great deal of time talking to some one about MPM. Some one not directly affiliated with any of the NPOs I am working with but some one who does have a great deal of influence over a number of NPOs including some I am working with. He is interested in helping me. Today I barely got to work on time and then I worked a nine hour shift. I had a really good day. I just didn't get much done on MPM. The weather is on my mind.

Tom

Where does reality come from?

The reality is...I had an "off" day at work today. I haven't been getting enough sleep, today was my long day ( in case you haven't detected, I'm not very happy about long days), the sales director for our chain was at our facility today--that puts every one on edge, I didn't get lunch until 3:20--late lunches up set my digestion, the assistant sales mgr. and one of my coworkers were angry all day--I don't like it when people are angry, it up sets me, the list goes on but to sum it up, my attitude was bad and consequently my sales showed it.

This is not a "woe is me" list even if it does bear some resemblance to one. We all have days like this so I know you can identify with the day that I had. I just wanted to set the stage for what I am about to say. when I got home and settled, I read a quick chapter in the book I am currently reading. At the end of the chapter I realized that all of these things that we shall for the moment call negative, are not part of my reality, I chose to believe they were a part of my reality, I accepted them as my reality. The truth is, I allowed myself to become a victim.

What does all this have to do with where reality comes from? Near the end of the chapter that I read this evening the author recounts how it took years to realize that 90 per cent of her ill fortune was between her ears. That really resonated with me. Now I know where my reality comes from and I'll bet I know where yours comes from.

Tom

More snow

It has been snowing most of the day to day but not much accumulation. What we do have is cold. The temp is in the low 20s but we have a strong Northwest wind that makes it seem cold.

I worked all day and went to a meeting right after work, a meeting where I thought I would meet up with a person who could potentially be a strong ally in working with a school. She failed to show up at the meeting and, the word at the meeting was that she is quiting her position at the school. Not much MPM progress today. My mommy said there would be days like this.

bzm: No need for apology, I read the post and came to that conclusion myself. I felt if I got that idea then maybe others would too. I knew that you did not think that, I just wanted to cover the bases for other people.

Tom

Thank You

Yesterday was an eye opener. It has been less than a week since I delivered the message, none of us is going to grow until we make ourselves ready. It appears that message has come home to roost with me.

In case anyone has gotten the idea that I am going to park my sales kit at the office door with a scribbled note, I would like to dispel that idea right now. I am in this for the long haul and one little set back is not going to change my mind.

bzm: A very special thanks for all the kind words. As I talked to the lady yesterday, I got the impression from her voice (or somewhere) that this was a no--for now. I sensed that she really wanted to go ahead but couldn't at this time. I will stay in touch with them and see what works out.

Tom

Sometimes they say no.

I have a long history in sales. During part of my career I trained new sales people. One of the most shocking discoveries new sales people make is that sometimes the prospect says no. I would prepare them for this before they hit the street but they left the office, invincible, no prospect would say no to them. In fact one new hire whom I had a lot of faith in, I thought he could become a good salesperson, left the office at 9:00 AM after a week of sales training and product preparation. He was full of enthusiasm and I could tell he was expecting to make a lot of sales today. I cautioned him, I told him on the first visit your goal is introduce yourself and your company. Put the customers at ease, tell them you are not there to sell, you only want to introduce yourself. I knew that he would be thrown out if he tried to sell on the first visit.

By the time I came back from lunch that day, the new salesman's sales kit was parked outside the office door. This message was scrawled on a piece of scratch paper in pencil and hastily taped to the sales kit, "I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE." I called the new salesman and asked what the problem was. "THEY ALL SAID NO!" I could not convince the new salesman to come back. He was totally unprepared. He simply did not believe that sometimes, they say no.

Today as I was doing follow ups with the NPOs that I have made presentations to, one of them let me know that they had come to the conclusion that MPM is not for them. They feel that they have too small of a constituency to make it work and that the concept its' self is just not a good fit for their organization. I have to admit, I felt a little like my new salesman, I was not expecting them to say no. It goes to show, no matter how seasoned you are, we all need to be aware, sometimes, they do say no.

bzm: Thanks for your welcome.

Tom

Rain, rain, rain

When I was in a polka band back in the 1960's we played a song called Rain, Rain Polka. It was a fun song and I enjoyed playing it. It has rained all day today and it is supposed to rain again tomorrow. Then it is going to get colder and the rain will change to snow on Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., and Sun. While we could use the moisture here (western MN and Eastern ND have flooding problems) I am not at all impressed with all this rain.

I would like to thank those of you who responded to last Thursday's blog. There were somethings that needed to be said and now they have been said. The offer is still open, if there is anything I can help anyone with, I would be glad to do it. Just let me know.

taff: Thank you for the kind words about my blog. I'm glad it helped you. I will try your suggestions for viewing other peoples blogs. Thank you.

bzm: I am certainly happy to share what ever I know with the whole family. I am here to help other people.As for lessons learned, I would like to start with something that people would most like to know about. I am looking for suggestions here. Thank you for the advice on how to get to other people's blogs.

Tom

Confession

I have a slight confession to make. When I sat down to write my blog last night I had blank mind other than to say Happy Birthday MPM. As I started writing the words kept coming as if someone else had a message they needed to get out and they were using my fingers to type it.

Having said that, I agree with everything that was said and I can give you my reflections on it and even tell you the lessons I have learned. This is something I would be happy to do,.but not in tonight's blog.

bzm: Thank you for the nice comments. No, I haven't read Eleanor's blog. I haven't read any one's blog. Not that I don't care, but because I don't know how to access any one's blog. I would like to know if someone could let me know how it is done. I don't know what you meant by Collective lessons,but if you mean something for everyone, I would be happy to do it. My intention, and remember I'm not so sure it was me doing the writing, was that the lessons refer to both the growth of self and the growth of skill sets needed for success.

Again, I would be happy to elaborate on any lessons that I have learned.

Tom

Happy Birthday!

I would like to take this time to wish MPM a happy 2nd birthday , and many, many more.A lot of things have happened in these last two years. We have learned a lot. We tried many things--some of them worked, some ofgthem didn't. We launched the first boot camp, some thing I am very proud to be a part of.

While we ARE growing, there seems to be a feeling that we are not growing fast enough. We are growing at exactly the right pace. I know this because there are lessons to be learned now. When the lessons are learned we will grow plenty fast enough. Just as fast as we want and may be even faster than we want. For now, we must ask "What lessons should we be learning?" I can assure you we are not going to grow any faster until we learn the lessons we are meant to learn. I can not learn the lessons for you. Each and every one of you must learn your own lessons and until you do, you will not move forward. You will keep repeating the same lessons over and over and over until you learn them.

Let's celebrate this 2nd birthday by asking what lessons should I be learning? When you can answer, make learning the lessons your highest priority and move on. I recognize that I have many lessons to learn. I am moving at a slow pace also but I know that when I take the time to learn my lessons, the pace will pick up.

bzm: Yes, the letter was important. The meeting was great--a men's prayer meeting.

Tom

Catch up

I had twelve things on my to do list for today. I got two of them done. The first one was to write a letter that I had been requested to write on Nov. 28Th 2008, the week I started boot camp. I have put that letter on my to do list every day since Nov. 28Th and every day it has come in second to something else with a higher priority. Today I drew a line and said nothing else on this to do list is getting done until this letter is written. I finished in time to deal with a small family emergency and make an unscheduled trip to the doctor (nothing serious). I got back from the doctor in time for part of my supper and off to a scheduled meeting, the second thing on the list to get completed. I had another meeting to attend scheduled at the same time but I could not be in two places at once so the second meeting got missed. Now I am back at home, I finished the rest of my supper and I am writing my blog, a third thing on my to do list that will be completed shortly.

bzm: Thanks!

Tom

St Paddie's Day

I didn't do anything for St. Paddie's Day today--nothing. I'm suprised at myself. Usually I do something, but this year nothing. I must be slipping.

This morning I had a chat with an MPM member who wanted some advice on working with NPOs. I'm afraid I wasn't very encouraging. She has been given a list of NPO's none of which is in her state. Secondly, every NPO on the list was an organization for men only, women are not allowed. I explained to her that working with NPOs long distance is difficult and in the past has not proven to be very successful. I also explained that the best results can be gotten when people have a passion to work with the NPO even if they do not have an interest in MPM. This woman did not have a passion to drive to another state, or states, to attend meetings for "men only".

I try to be diplomatic with my words but in this case I don't have a diplomatic way of saying how I fell about this so I will just say, in my opinion, the situation could, and should, be handled in such a way as to make the best use of the woman's time.

bzm: I'm happy to say my personal taxes are done and turned in to the accountant. Yes, it is a good feeling.

Tom

Monday

Long day today, not much accomplished on MPM. Worked on my taxes before going in to work.

bzm: Well said. I like the fact that we can help other people. That is my reason for being here.

Tom

Friday the 13th

Today was my long day--nine hour shift. Before leaving this morning I checked with the person who wanted help with NPOs. We are going to continue the conversation next week. I did not accomplish much today with my NPOs.

bzm: Yes, someone from MPM.

Tom

No Change

Today being Thursday, I went to work early and had to work late. Not much was accomplished on MPM, although I did get a request for help with NPOs which I will address tomorrow.

bzm: I can not thank you enough for all those kind words and for the encouragement that you provide. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Tom

Good Show!!

All went well with the NPO. In spite of my doubts, I was well prepared. I thank all of you for your prayers. The initial presentation is done, there is interest, and now there will be a several week interval before we get the go ahead for the next round.

bzm: Again, thank you for your kind words and for your prayers. They are most inspiring and they provide well needed encouragement.

Tom

Big Snow

We are having another snow storm here. It is not that we are having so much accumulation where I live, actually compared to the rest of the state, we don't have much. What we do have here is a small accumulation accompanied by a lot of high wind.

Fortunately for me, I have been able to spend the entire afternoon and evening inside preparing for my NPO visit tomorrow. As unusual, I have read everything I can find on them, I have prepared my numbers, and I have rehearsed my presentation. I have even planned for unusual questions that I think might get asked. I am as ready as I am going to be but I still need your prayers. I know that I can not do this alone, I need all of you there in spirit. Thank you.

bzm: You have always been there, it means a lot to know that you are there. Thank you so much.

Tom

Monday

Except for a few calls this morning not much got done today another long shift.

bzm: Thanks for the kind words.

Tom

Late entry

I make it a point not blog on Saturday or Sunday but since I missed my regular Friday night blog I am making an exception. I came home from work so tired on Friday night that I ate my supper and immediately fell asleep on the sofa and didn't wake up until 1:00 AM. I did not do the blog then, I went right to bed since I had to be at work early this morning.

For those of you who have an interest in Edy's team call, I talked to her yesterday morning and she said the call was not recorded.

Tom ~{}~

Eve Mtng

I worked all day and went to a meeting this evening. An official from the church school that I would like to work with was supposed to be at the meeting but she did not show up. I have heard of these things happening so I know it is a possibility--in fact it may have happened to me a time or two. Any way, I will have to try again.

bzm: Thanks for the prayers for T. She is doing better this evening. I don't know if the call was recorded but I can certainly find out.

Tom ~{}~

Happiness is...

I am pleased to announce an appointment for next week with a new NPO. Again, I attribute this success to my research, lots of it, my sincere desire to help this specific NPO. I had decided to do volunteer work for this NPO even if they decide not to become a MPM member and I believe my passion for their organization showed.

For those of you who were on Edy's call this evening, the confusion over the dog is this: There is only one dog. Earlier on this blog I had mentioned that I had a sick dog. The dog had a back problem. Tonight on the call, my wife mentioned she had to take care of a sick dog. It's the same dog, different sickness. The back problem is clearing its self up thanks to all of your prayers, tonight this same dog has a tummy ache.

bzm: Crow followed me around today, once a flock of 13, later a flock of 22. I think he was bringing me hugs.

Update

I have been doing research on new NPOs that I will be contacting. I have also been studying our NPO guide. I want to be on top of what we have to offer and be ready for those questions i know will come up. The ones that I don't know what they are now but I know they are going to be asked so I am trying to be prepared. I have been asked to be on Edies call tomorrow and I am preparing for that.

There hasn't been much change with my NPOs. Everyone seems to be out of town or just "not in."

bzm: Thanks for the encouraging words. Ginny is right, if I can't get to the NPOs, the Universe brings them to me. Now that is the way to do it. I am certain it will continue.

Tom ~{}~

Stroke of luck

Started out the morning shoveling snow so I could get my car out to go to work. I worked a nin e hour shft again today.

While at work I talked to a lady who mentioned that she had bought a $50.00 pair of high heels to attend one charity event. She said she never wears high heels but she needed them for this one event. I said to her, "This charity must be very important to you if you are willing to spend $50.00 on a pair of shoes you will wear only once." She explained that this charity picks up the mortgage payment of people who have a family member who is hospitalized for a month. In her case she had a child hospitalized for 90 days so the Charity picked up three mortgage payments. I asked how the charity got it's money. She said they had endowments and individual donors but they had all dried up and this "event" she was going to was a fund raiser. I told her that this was my kind of charity and That I might be able to help them get some more funding. I go the name and will be contacting them next week.

bzm: no, the snow was not melted this morning. We got between seven and eight inches and the ground temp was below zero this morning. It did not melt!

Tom~{}~

Snow

I was at work all day today. It turned out that I had to work an hour of overtime so left late. It started snowing this afternoon and by the time I left work we had seven inches of new snow and high winds blowing it around. The commute home was long and strenuous. When I got home I ate my supper and now I am writing my blog.

Sorry, not much to report on MPM today.

Tom ~{}~

A slow day, but a good day

First of all, I am really happy about the visa gift cards. They will make life a lot easier for my own buying and for potential team members who are considering a card. This is a good thing.

I did not get as much done today as I had hoped. I had a number of personal errands that had been put off during the boot camp whose time had come and I had to do them now. They took considerably longer than I had planned. Consequently, less time was left for MPM. I did drafts of emails for the two NPOs that I am working with this week.One is just fine and I can send it. The other is a long way from fine. It needs more work.

Tom ~{}~

Good Meeting

I spent the remainder of last night (until 2 A.M.) and the early hours this morning preparing for my NPO visit. When I got there I felt well prepared and the visit went well. I followed my own suggestions and I feel this was the best meeting yet.

However, let's not celebrate too much yet. I also had a telephone conversation with one of lthe people I had a tentative meeting with tomorrow. He is not convinced that this meeting would be a good use of his time. He left the door open saying that he needed some concrete information to convince him hat something will come of this. I am finding that most NPOs are accustomed to calling people and with one phone call they get a check for 5,000, 10,000, 50,000. What ever they need at the time they ask for and get. We are suggesting something new and different and they don't know what to think.

bzm: I can suggest "Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude" which was coauthored with W. Clement Stone. If you are not familiar with Stone, I know you would like him. I will just say this: Stone was the son of a single mom in Chicago--he delivered papers and she scrubbed floors. At the end of each day they pooled their money to so that they have enough to get a single meal which they both shared. It was the only meal they had for the day.

Tom

Monday

Spending every free moment preparing for my NPO presentations. I am still not ready.

bzm: Is that from "Master Key to Riches?"

Tom

Friday

Made follow up calls this morning before going in to work. Did not reach anyone--left messages.

bzm: Thanks
a: Thanks

Tom

A good day

Spent what little MPM time I had preparing for my two visits next week and answering email.

bzm: Thanks for the encouragement, I look for it, it keeps me going.

Tom

Yes, those big numbers really ARE true

It has been another good day for NPOs. As of this evening, I have a confirmed appointment with an NPO for Tuesday, and a tentative appointment with another NPO for Wednesday.

I was rather surprised today when another NPO told me "No, we don't need anymore money.... but I will take your name and number down--- just in case." A lot of "Big NPOs" have not been having any trouble getting money from foundations that have been doing well up until now. When they seek the next round of financing they will find out what the small NPOs have already found out---those foundations who have been so generous in the past were getting their money from the stock market and money that has been there all along is not there anymore.

bzm: Yes, I will soon be saying "those big numbers really ARE true."

Tom

Work Day

Today I got the statistics for another NPO and worked on the presentation. The numbers are big--they really are to good to be true. I also got the name of another NPO which I am very interested in. I go it late in the day so I did the research on it and will contact them tomorrow.

Tom

Quick response

bzm: We think amazingly a like. More later.

Prayers,

Tom

Feelin' good

I had a great Valentine's day with my wife and daughter. Thanks for all the good wishes.

I've been feeling good all day today. I work on Sundays. I don't like to do it but it is a fact of life for now. On my way into work today I saw two hawks. One perched and one soaring. It got me off to a good start and I've been feeling good all day.

I never blogged once on a Sunday all during boot camp, now here i am blogging on a Sunday. You are having an effect on me. I'm sure it is a good effect.

tkny: Yes, follow up is a hard part. Before Christmas I did a very poor job of it. I am pleased to say that since Christmas and since I found my niche, NPOs, I have been doing a very good job of staying on top of my follow ups.

bzm: I am glad Big Z is hearing me. He is in my prayers daily. I know that he is going to do big things. As for Big Z's Mom, I appreciate the support she has given me.

Prayers for everyone,

Tom~{}~

St. Valentine's day

Hi guys:

I don't normally blog on Saturday but since you responded to my Friday night blog on Saturday, I will at least acknowledge it. Thanks!

If you were on the call Thursday night, Jacki asked me about an NPO that gives .90 cents of every dollar to its' clients. That was not the NPO that I visited on Wednesday. I have been calling, leaving messages, and sending emails to the one that gives .90 cents back but I have not heard a thing in quite a while. Last night I got an email from them. It appears the person I am dealing with has been gone. The email says she wants more information. This is a good thing.. I will certainly get it to her.

I worked all day today and I spent the evening celebrating St. Valentine's day with my wife and daughter. Big Z, you're the best and I know you are making sure your Mom is having the best St. Valentine's day ever. Tina, you have a great St. Valentine's day too! I am going to get back to my wife and daughter.

More later,

Tom ~{}~

Last day of boot camp

We are finally here, the last day. Yes, it is sad but it is also a relief. It is my fond hope that all things good continue on without skipping a beat. I suppose that "all things good" implies that some things were not good. That is not my intention here. As the boot camp progressed, I discovered that some things were more good than others for me. Those same things that were "less good" for me I am sure were most good for others. In any event, I wish that all good things continue.

Last night in my blog I mentioned that my wife had had to make a supreme sacrifice for me to be on the boot camp as I am sure everyone Else's significant other has had to do the same. I do not wish this moment of thanks to pass without giving special recognition to Big Z. He has shared his Mom with us for the two months of the boot camp. I did not realize that he was only nine years old. My wife is an adult and the sacrifice for her was supreme--you can only try to imagine what a sacrifice it is for a child to share his mom with all of us. Big Z, you have taken on the job of a man and done it better than most men could have done. Big Z. you're the best!

Also, congratulations to your Mom on her new position!

Tom~{}~

End of boot camp eve

Tonight's blog is dedicated to three wonderful people without whom I would not have made it through this boot camp. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the three of you. Big Z, his Mom, and Tina from New York this blog is dedicated to you.

I am not trying to imply that other people did not help me make it through this boot camp. There were many others and certainly I owe a debt of gratitude to each and every one of them. My wife is at the head of the list. She has had to make many sacrifices so that I could participate in this boot camp. Hopefully, I will find a suitable way to thank all of them but to night I am going to concentrate on Big Z, his Mom, and Tina From New York.

Jacki keeps saying I am a man of few words--I don't believe it, but to night I don't have the words to express how important each of you is to me. Tonight on the call, several times I had tears too. We have come through the thick and the thin, we have developed a relationship and we are better for it. The end of boot camp does not mark the end of the relationship, it marks only one step in the beginning of it. This relationship will move forward with us. I am going to continue working with NPOs and I will continue blogging but I need your continued support. You are a part of my business, you are a part of my life, you are a part of me.

As I said on the call tonight, you all are members of this boot camp, and when this class graduates tomorrow you will be members of the graduating class just as much as I am. I am inviting you to continue on with me, my victories will be your victories, and at those times when I don't view the outcome as victorious immediately, it won't be victorious for you immediately either. In either case we go forward together.

You have been here for me in my times of need. I was serious when I said on the call that I am making a commitment to be here for you at any time you wish. Just let me know. I will blog, I will email, I will call. In fact I think it might be a good idea to get together on the phone once in a while. Calls are no charge for me so I will be happy to make the call but I need a number.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are in my prayers daily,

Tom~{}~

As always, a good day

For those of you who were on the morning call, yes, I got my numbers changed in time to make my appointment.The appointment went well. I was prepared with the right information which I covered up front.The Development Director was impressed with the possibilities and wants to move forward. Moving forward means that she wants to present it to her staff for their evaluation. I offered to come back and do the presentation but she wants to do it. I am to get back with her on the 20th to see what they had to say and to see what we will do next.

tkny: Sorry for your loss of Simba, they get to be family. I know that you know what we are going through.
bzm: Thanks for the encouragement regarding my appointment today and thanks for the kind words regarding NPOs.

Celebrating a really good day

I missed the AM call today because I was gone, we took the dog to a new vet this morning. When we were finishing up the new vet asked if we knew the number for a doctor we had seen earlier. My wife rifled through a big wad of business cards trying to find it and about half way through she came to four or five of her own, nicely printed, in living color, MPM business cards. The conversation switched to MPM right there. When the conversation got to NPOs the vet asked if we ever did anything with animal NPOs. I mentioned the one I am working with now and the vet if I would contact one of her favorites. I assured her that I would certainly do that.

Now that we are well into the third week of pain and agony for this little dog, we have finally found her some relief. We are not yet sure what brought this on but we have eliminate the shakes and painful cries. In fact, she slept all afternoon in peace--the first restful sleep she has gotten in three weeks.

I continued working on my presentation for the NPO I will see tomorrow, and attended the evening call. I am so relieved that the dog is doing better that right after the evening call I fell a sleep. It is 12:45 Minnesota time and I just got up now to do the blog.

bzm: Thanks for the hugs, and the quote on hope, I really like it. tk: Thanks for the prayers.

Tom~{}~

another good day

Things went particularly well at work today. In a round about way, this mornings call was about detachment. This is an area that I really need to work on not just in my MPM dealings but in all my dealings. It just so happened that I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to practice detachment at work today. I did not get off to a very good start but when all was said and done I did a super job of practicing detachment.

bzm: Thank you for the prayers for our dog--she is not out of the woods yet. Some instruments come to some people more easily than others. It appears that Big Z's instrument is the piano. That is great! Who knows, he may pick up the guitar at a later date. As for my creations, I promise you will see some in the not too distant future.

Still having a great day

Having a great day does not necessarily mean everything is going the way you want it to go or that you are getting everything that you want. Now I had a great day today. I woke up about two hours earlier than I wanted, to a dog in pain. My wife and I both tried to comfort it, we gave it pain pills before they were due, but still the dog cried out in pain and shook and shivered no matter what we did. We have had the dog to the vet twice this week but we can't figure out how to stop the pain. I cut my breakfast short and started on my commute to work. I got there in time to tune into the morning call before it started. After the call I pulled my nine hour shift. I don't like nine hour shifts but they are a fact of life. After the shift I started my long commute home (long to me, I am sure other people have much longer commutes than I so I shouldn't complain). Once home, I sat for an hour and a half comforting my dog. It is now 11:00 PM, I have not had my supper yet and I did not get as much done on MPM as I had hoped.

I did not tell you all of this to make you think I am working hard. No, I am telling you this because I want you to know that not everything went the way I wanted it to but still I HAD A GREAT DAY! I would not trade it for any other day. This is the day that I was supposed to have, and mind you there were many blessings through out the day--so many that I did not have time to count them all. We all have many blessings every day but we sometimes concentrate so hard on the things we didn't like that we fail to see the blessings. Many times we fail to see the blessings because they are disguised as something we don't like. Anyway, I want you to know that I had a really great day today. My prayer for each and everyone of you is that you have a great day tomorrow. At the end of the day you will know if you had a great day if you can name at least one blessing you received during the day that came disguised as a problem.

bzm: I am really glad to hear that Big Z likes the keyboard. I like all kinds of music.I played in a band when I was young but now that I am old I make guitars and flutes for a hobby. I have a special message for Big Z: pleas find the time, at your convenience, to clear your mind of all distractions and listen to Philip's story. When you are done, please make a comment on my blog site telling me what you thought of Philip's story. Big Z, would you do that for me?

Tom ~{}~

How can it not be a good day?

I listened to Richard on the morning call this morning and after listening to him I can not see how anyone can have a bad day. How can it not be a good day? Richard is spectacular! Thanks Richard for sharing your storey with us. The message may be delivered with an accent (I'm from Minnesota and [to me] people from Texas have an accent) but it is loud and clear. If you should ever think you are having a bad day, check out the AM call from 2/5/09, you will never ever have a bad day the rest of your life. Life will not deal you a bad day. There may be times when you think life has dealt you a bad day but these are only thoughts, (I don't mean to be little thoughts, they are one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon mankind) if you think you are having a bad day it is because you chose to think you are having a bad day. You can choose to think another way. Wayne Dryer has said "Change the way you think about a thing, and the thing you think about changes." This certainly applies to your day. Thanks again Richard.

After all that, yes I had a good day. I am completely caught up on all of my NPO follow ups. Now that is a good day! I am also happy to report that I have an appointment with another NPO for next week.

Enough for today, a good day.

Tom~{}~

Untitled

Made follow up calls today, all NPOs whom I have contacted in the past. Did not reach anyone, left messages.

bzm, special thanks to all of you who said prayers last night (or this morning) there are a lot of people out there who do not have hope. You are right, to not have hope is not to have life. I can not get that word "hope" off my mind. Special thanks to that wonderful woman brought it to my attention yesterday and whom has made it her life's career to return hope to those lives whom have lost it. She is truly on the right path.

Tom~{}~

Visitation

Spent the early part of the day going over the new form Ginny gave us. I wanted to be sure I was familiar with what it said and to be sure I had made it out right. It takes a fair amount of time to get it right.

There was excitement and disbelief. Sometimes people want things very badly but when they see that it is possible, that they really can have what they want, they resign themselves into believing it is too good to be true. we must be prepared for this. You will know when people are headed down this trail. They will latch on to things that would seemingly indicate that this is not for real. One of the first ones is "if it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck ... it must be an MLM." While we know this is definitely not true, the image we put before people's eyes screams so loudly "I am a duck" that it drowns out what ever our mouths can say to the contrary. Once this image is in peoples minds it is difficult to change it. This issue has come up several times for myself and for other people. If we are to be successful; it is absolutely compulsory that we take every possible step to negate this image before it ever comes up. Enough rambling for tonight.

I met a most impressive woman today who reminded of a vocabulary word that I hadn't thought about in a long while. The word is hope. I ask you all to say a short prayer when you read this that all the people in the world who have given up on hope will get it back again. When you have finished that one say one for yourself that when the going gets tough you won't give up on doing your part to bring that hope to the people who need it most.

Tom ~{}~

Good News

I have several items of good news to report tonight. First, I want to thank those of you who sent me instructions on how to get on to the call now that it is in radio form.I got on the call this morning with no problems. Thank you.Second, one of the NPOs I contacted last week and who agreed to review the web site has sent me an e-mail today saying that they have reviewed web site and are interested in learning more.

In addition, I have an appointment for a personal visit to an NPO tomorrow. I have spent my MPM time today preparing for that visit. Gathering additional information that I needed and preparing the formal Proposal took up all of the time that I had today. I will let you know in tomorrow night's blog how things went on the visit.

bzm, taf, ale and tny thanks for the kind response to my "ramblings."

Until tomorrow,

Tom ~{}~

I must have missed something

I must have missed something! I dialed into the morning call this morning. At first no one was there and then Barb and Richard came on. Then Vern came on and said to dial a different number which I did. I could hear the call just fine but when I talked no one could hear me. I heard about others raising their hand but I don't have the slightest idea how to "raise my hand" on the phone. I would be grateful if someone could fill me in on how this works. Thanks.

I got a little carried away on my blog last night. When it comes to NPOs I get really excited and I didn't realize that I was rambling on, sorry. I will keep it to a minimum tonight.

bzm, tny, Thank you everyone for your replies.

Tom ~{}~

Still a good day

Today I left for work early and got home just in time for the evening call, in fact I signed on about two minutes after it started. While it is true that we were dismissed from the call early to do follow ups--a great idea, keep it up!--I did not do that. I cooked myself supper instead. After eating I spent my time researching another NPO that I will be contacting soon. This one requires more research than most. It has many supporters who happen to be other NPOs whom I am already working with. I do not wish to create confusion or worse yet, any kind of negative backlash. I am treading lightly on this one.

For those of you who were not on the call this evening, I mentioned some things that I have learned about NPOs. Most of them may be desperate for money, but they have been lead down the path enough times by people who were less than sincere when they offered to help. This has caused NPOs to be skeptical at the very least and out right gun shy at the worst when it comes to "Greeks bearing gifts." At our present stage of development, (by that I mean most of us do not have much experience in dealing with NPOs), we are not going to come off as being sincere if we have not done the minimal amount of research to find out what the NPO does, how they do it, who their clients are, and where they are getting their current funding. It wouldn't hurt you to know the status of that funding--has it been cut off, has it been diminished, or is it in danger of being cut off in the immediate future. You should have enough information to speak intelligently before you call. This is what I call "hip pocket information". You may not need it on every call but you should have it in your hip pocket ready to pull out if you do need it. There is nothing more "unprofessional" than the person who calls up an NPO and offers to help and two sentences into the conversation it becomes clearly evident that the person offering to help doesn't have a clue as to what the NPO is all about. Do your home work before making the call.

Since most of us have not seen an NPO all the way though to sign up, we don't know what all this is going to entail. As Jacki said on tonight's call, "you should expect them to ask you to volunteer for the organization." After all we are calling them and telling them how interested we are in their organization. It is perfectly normal for them to ask us to volunteer. I expect my NPOs to ask and I am prepared to volunteer. If you are not sincere enough to volunteer, may be you should select a different NPO. I have made a list of those organizations I would volunteer for and I call them. I don't call NPOs that are not on my volunteer list.

This brings up another issue, we will have our greatest successes with NPOs that are close by, ones we can go to and help establish world changer malls with their members and supporters. You already know how much work it is to get a single individual up and running, now multiply that by the number of people in the organization. You have got to understand that the NPO staff is not going to do this for you (they are already over worked) and you can not do this inabsentia.

These things that I share are not intended to be discouraging. I only mention them so that You can start off on the right foot. You can avoid the mistakes that others have made. Start off with NPOs in your immediate locale, that you can drive to in the amount of time that you have allotted for MPM. Select NPOs that you are sincerely interested in and know some thing about. Do these three things and you will be on your way to success.

bzm--I re-read my own "reason" tonight. I hadn't read it in a while. It is a good thing to do every so often. Thanks for mentioning it. kny--yes, we are all one big family. The Spirit is working within the family. If you just look for it, you will see it. It is there plain as day and visible to the naked eye.

Another good day

Again, I set out to get five NPOs today. You don't really need to hear all the excuses as to why I didn't get all five but I do want to share with you that I did get two. The way I see it, as I do more of these, I will continue to get better and better at it. You have heard the old expression "The man who reaches for the stars will not come up with a hand full of mud." As long as I keep reaching for the five, I will not come up empty handed.

Before Christmas I had a terrible time doing follow ups. I have my own set of excuses as to why they didn't get done ( I am sure you do too! ). Anyway, I have made a new year commitment to not let myself off with those excuses. I spend the major portion of my time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays going after the five, but I reserve a portion of time everyday for doing follow ups. Today, when I was doing my follow ups, I was fortunate enough to book an appointment with an NPO for next week, and, an appointment with an other NPO to set an appointment for a later date.

Yes, this was another good day and just so you know what really makes it a good day is all you wonderful people who send me those encouraging comments on my blog. Thank you all so very, very much.

Tom ~{}~

A good day

I made a commitment to get five NPOs to look at the web site today. I had researched all five and felt that I was prepared not only with a working knowledge of who they were and what they did but I also had a reason why I was interested in their particular NPO. I was only able to connect with two of them They both agreed to check out the web site. I feel that is good.

I did not stop there. I researched two more NPOs and learned as much as I could about them. A good way into the research I found out one of them was not a good match for us and the other is going to take a lot more research than I have time for today. Still determined to get my five, I researched two more NPOs. By the time I finished it was after 5 PM. I made the calls anyway. No one was there--- this time. I know that business offices close at 5 PM but I make it a practice to keep on calling anyway. I have found that the people I need to talk to are the ones who stay past five and in many cases I would not have gotten past the "gate keeper" if I had called before five.

Oh, yes, you have connected the dots correctly---Now she wants to know how you know her?

It has been a good day, I feel good!

Tom

Another Day

First, let me thank the friends and Campers who have sent me words of encouragement in the form of comments to my blog. You are very encouraging and I need that. Many, many thanks to all of you and may the blessings of the Great Spirit come into your life.

Yes, today was another one of those days where not much gets accomplished. I made some follow calls this morning and did not connect with anyone. Then I was on the morning call and then I did a nine hour shift at work. I got home from work in time to hear the end of the Monday evening call. After that, I made supper, ate it, and now I am up dating my blog.

Not very exciting is it? However, I do want to call attention to something I learned on the morning call that is exciting.. One of my NPOs is an umbrella organization which has 80 NPOs under it. Each of these NPOs is completely independent and operates as its own entity. It urns out that I have already been working with some of these independents before I contacted the umbrella organization. It was my intention to sign up the Umbrella organization first and then sign up the independents under it.What I learned today was that any independents who sign up before the umbrella org. will not be under it. This gives me a lot of leverage in dealing with the umbrella org. If they want to be the leader and have the independents under them, they have got to sign up now or be left behind. I hope this is information that you can all use as you work with NPOs.

I promise to have more information in tomorrows blog.

Tom

One of those days

Today was one of those days where you don't get much done. An hour commute into work, an hour on the call, a nine and a half hour shift, and fortunately a shorter commute home--less traffic at night. I reviewed e-mails this morning before I left and I have been researching the NPO that I want to contact next tonight. It is a complex organization made up of several diverse special interest groups united under the umbrella of a large core group. I want to be sure that I am well versed on the purpose and mission of each one of these small groups and what their relationship is to the large group.

I have not finished my research on this but so far I have found that the tax payers passed a special referendum in the last election which calls for a special tax which would benefit some members of this group. At this point, no one knows how much money this will be but they do know it will have to be shared with many other NPOs in the state. The fear right now is that the Governor, looking for places to cut spending, may use this special tax which will benefit some of the group, as an excuse to take away all the money the whole group is getting now.

As you can see, I have a lot more research to do on this one. Lucky for me, I have several small NPOs which I have already researched and whom I can contact right away.

Many blessings to all,

Tom
P.S. Just thought you'd like to know, we are looking at -30 again tomorrow.

Legislative Briefing.

This morning I reviewed my work from yesterday and found that two e-mails I had sent out had not gone through. I then went to work (at my Job). After work I went to a Minnesota Legislative Briefing.

When I was researching my NPOs, reading everything I could find about them on the Internet, I found that most of them had legislative up dates on their web sites. If what is going on at the Legislature is so important to my NPOs that they post up dates on their web sites, then it better be important to me if I want to be able to talk to them about what matters to them. I felt it was important enough to miss the Boot Campers call. I gave a lot of thought to missing the call. It is the only daily call I have missed since Boot Camp started.

What did I learn at this briefing? Our state, like 45 other states is experiencing a budget short fall again this year. The Minnesota constitution calls for a balanced budget. In short that means the Legislators MUST come up with a way to cover the short fall between now and May 18Th. There are two "basic" ways to balance the budget---cut spending or increase revenue. The normal way to increase revenue is by increasing taxes. Our Governor has made it very painfully clear "THERE WILL BE NO NEW TAXES." That leaves the Legislature only one option, cut spending. What does "cut spending" mean? It means the state agencies and NPOs will not get as much money from the state as they got last year.

How much less than last year? We have right now a $5 billion short fall. I am going to use this number even though we know it does not count for inflation or for the fact that many Minnesotans have lost their jobs and are no longer paying taxes. Some of the NPOs I work with deal with health and human services so I attended their legislative briefing. The state currently gives health and human services $11.5 billion. The governor has proposed taking $2.6 billion from their budget, an overall reduction of 23%. I think you can see why what goes on at the legislature is important to my NPOs and ultimately to me.

This is probably already more politics than you wanted to hear about but it does let you know how I spent my time to night and for those of you who are dealing with NPOs, you would do well to find out where your NPOs are getting their funding now and if it is threatened. It gives you more credibility if you know and understand enough about their concerns to have a meaningful discussion.with them.

OK, enough,

Tom

Some don't need Funding

Another great day! A while ago, I believe it was on the first or second call after Christmas break, I had indicated that I had found my niche and I was asked how do I know, what is different? I don't remember what I responded but I believe I have a better answer now.

I can tell you what is different. Before I started working with NPOs I had to find my leads from the general populace. Now I heard at least two people on last nights call say finding those five contacts is as easy as boom, boom, boom. I have heard Jacki say getting those contacts should take very little time. I am sure it is easy for those who say it is. Here is the difference: since I am working with NPOs I am excited about what I am doing, I enjoy researching and learning about the organizations I am going to contact. I can't wait to get started in the morning and I don't want to stop when it is time to quit. I enjoy every call I make even if they say no.

Now let's look back before NPOs when I had to work with the general populace. I dreaded every day. Even when I had my five for the day there was no peace because I knew I had to find five more the next day. When night came there was no peace because I knew that as soon as I got up the next morning I was on the hook for five more names. There was no joy in finding the contacts when I did get them.

Please don't draw the conclusion that I don't like working with the general populace or that I think that I can hide behind NPOs and never have to work with individuals. I know that when the NPOs start signing on I will be helping them---yes helping them sign up individuals. I am looking forward to it.


I spent a lot of time researching the NPO's that I contacted today. Only two of them agreed to look at the web site but that's great. I don't want to say much about it now but one of them looks extremely promising. I was also surprised to find out in spite of the economy, some NPO's have all the money they need and others say that there is plenty of money available for NPO's, they just have to be creative to get it.

Enough for now.

Tom