Last week we had to have a tree removed from our front yard. It had contracted some form of disease and sections were dying off, eliminating the shade it provided and rendering it an eyesore. I hated losing that tree – it anchored one side of the house and the curb appeal has been negatively … Continue reading The Bar is Low
Blog
When the Going Gets Tough
One Saturday last May, my wife Susan went to a local flea market with a friend. They hadn’t been gone long when I received a phone call. Susan had bought something and needed me to bring the truck in order to get it home. It was an old chest, beaten and neglected for years. My … Continue reading When the Going Gets Tough
Parched (An Allegory)
I’ve got to do some work on my sprinkler system. Out here in West Texas, we don’t get a lot of rain. In fact, it can go months without any precipitation and, with summer temperatures over 100 degrees, the landscape starts to get a bit crispy. Many plants have either evolved or been bred to … Continue reading Parched (An Allegory)
Be Prepared
I hope you had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend; full of either rest or excitement, depending on which of those you were hoping for. I spent mine camping in the Carson National Forest near Tres Ritos, New Mexico. From my campsite in a meadow next to a babbling brook, I had the most incredible view. … Continue reading Be Prepared
Happy to Work
Last week, my daughter Abby started a new internship at Covenant Hospital here in Lubbock. Over the next several months, she’ll rotate through different departments to learn about what they do and potential employment opportunities they have. There’s also a classroom training aspect where she and the other interns (all young adults with developmental disabilities) … Continue reading Happy to Work
Tuned In
In the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, August 11th, someone left an old television set on the front porch of a house in Henrico County, Virginia. In fact, according to Police Lieutenant Matt Pecka, the mystery deliveryman visited 50 different houses that night, leaving TV sets outside the door of each one. Nothing … Continue reading Tuned In
Thirsty?
Early in my sales career, I spent a lot of time on the road. Thankfully, I had books on cassette tape to keep me company. One of my favorites was by the great Zig Ziglar. I got to thinking about that recently and looked up a transcript of one his stories that’s stuck with me … Continue reading Thirsty?
Thanks for Your Support
At 25, Sara Blakely found herself working for Danka selling fax machines door-to-door in the hot summer sun of Florida. The one-time lawyer want-to-be discovered that she was pretty good at selling. She had a knack for it and quickly began moving up the ranks, training others to sell the way she did. What she … Continue reading Thanks for Your Support
Look for the Gap
In the 1920’s, two-tone automobiles were popular. Body shop employees, however, were often frustrated with the process of painting the vehicles. To mask off the cars, they used newspaper or butcher paper glued to the vehicle. The process was messy and the paper was difficult to remove once the painting was completed. As a salesman, … Continue reading Look for the Gap
Cracking the Code
In November of 1990, a new sculpture titled “Kryptos” was installed on the grounds of CIA headquarters in Langley. Created by artist Jim Sanborn, the 12 block of copper is covered with 1,800 characters carved in four sections. Each section is written in a different code and, together, they form a riddle. It took eight … Continue reading Cracking the Code
scottvoland.com 