Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.
Every Wednesday is Personal Development in Business…
As a business owner, and an American, I’m a little torn about the whole Stimulus package about to be passed by our Government, and I’d like to hear your input. The concept of the Bailout is supposed to be to provide a cash infusion that will stimulate short term growth to get us out of the worst recession possibly ever.
For those that do not think this recession is anything new, I have this bit of news for you. In the late 70s, and even during the Great Depression, there was one major difference between those recessions and this one: our government had money. Read more...(670 words, 3 images, estimated 2:41 mins reading time)
Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.
Every Friday is Video Day…
Two days ago, at the tender age of 95, one of the most influential martial artists in history, Helio Gracie, passed on from this world.
He is one of the founders of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, also known as Gracie Jiu Jitsu. His list of accomplishments are too long to list. If you are interested, I certainly invite you to check out his Wikipedia page. His story is the stuff legends are made from.
The video up top is an interview from October of 2007. Helio talks about his long lasting legacy and what he considers his greatest accomplishment. As a student of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, I’d like to personally wish the entire Gracie family my condolences during this trying time. I have never met a bunch of nicer, more down to earth people than the Gracie family, and all those that train in their schools. Read more...(233 words, 1 image, estimated 56 secs reading time)
For the past few months, my partner Chris and I have battled countless times about the election. He is an adamant Obama supporter and I am an adamant arguer, which means I like to get his blood boiling by playing devil’s advocate. However, I definitely can say I am a huge fan of John McCain. I love his life story, his class, his hunger to do the right thing, and his never say die attitude. It’s why he got my vote.
I also was a fan of Sarah Palin. I know many people did not like her, especially for VP, but I did. I thought she handled what was thrown on her lap with great dignity, even if she was a bit conservative for my taste. I also come from a Republican household, so I consistently heard how good of a candidate and an American John McCain was. I’m sure that played a big role in my preference. Read more...(849 words, 2 images, estimated 3:24 mins reading time)
Article by Peter J. Normandia. Follow me on Twitter.
This economy sucks, plain and simple.
It’s probably the first time in my adult life I can actually say that. I was born in 1979, so I grew up with Reaganomics while watching Fraggle Rock. I was in High School during the first televised war in Iraq, and barely surviving the University of Maryland when Bill Clinton was explaining why Monica saved her dress without washing it. This was the same time the Mortgage Industry began their now notorious, greed filled run.
However, until last year, I had never experienced such a bad economy as an adult. To top it off, I opened a Mortgage Branch the year before specializing in A-paper loans, so I was smack dab in the middle of the windstorm. As the industry got what was coming to it, I learned incredibly valuable lessons I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Read more...(1598 words, 6 images, estimated 6:24 mins reading time)
I recently was asked to join a group of worldwide bloggers in a fight against poverty by participating in Blog Action Day 2008. The idea is that today, October 15th, across the globe, millions of bloggers will be raising awareness about the worldwide poverty problem.
Now, I live in a pretty upscale part of the country. However, I come from Brooklyn, NY, and I have seen my share of poverty. Besides all the local Projects, my Father taught for over 15 years at the Jim Thorpe school in Brooklyn. This school was the last line of schools before they kicked you out permanently. It was filled with poverty stricken families who had turned to crime mostly to survive. Read more...(925 words, 1 image, estimated 3:42 mins reading time)
I can not say I have been paying close, close attention, but I have been intrigued by this year’s Olympics. Obviously, the Michael Phelps story and the entire Men’s swimming team was very inspirational, as were many of the celebrated winners. However, something about the 2008 Olympics continues to bother me. As records continue to be broken, and athletes surpass their predecessors in physical feats, it seems something is being left behind:
Sportsmanship.
What happened to honesty? Sportsmanship? Grace? Class? I am appalled at what the Olympics has become. No longer is it a celebration of competition. It is more a conspiracy breeding ground, where even when someone wins a gold medal, you have to wonder if they cheated. Not only that, but you have numerous frustrated athletes, and their bitter supporters, defiantly disputing losses and the integrity of the games. I have no problem with competitors naturally being upset or disappointed after a loss, but even if the result was questionable, isn’t it better to let the public speak rather than disrespect the entire competition? Read more...(625 words, 3 images, estimated 2:30 mins reading time)
