By Nadia Ballas-Ruta

Overcoming fear doesn’t happen instantly or automatically. It is the result of deliberate intention, and conscious action towards doing things that scares you. As a result of overcoming your fears, you grow as a person, and expand the possibilities that surround your life.

Do you recall the last time you wanted to do something so intensely but fear got in your way? We all have those moments when we are enthralled with an idea only to have fear prevent us from moving forward. What can we do to overcome fear from paralyzing us from moving forward with our dreams and desires?

I have always found it interesting how the concept of playing it safe makes many people choose being miserable over being happy.

The interesting thing about the human condition is that the minute we experience pain, we never want to experience it again. So as a result, we do things that we feel will ensure that we do not get hurt. In fact, we will go to further extend to avoid pain than we are to gain pleasure.

For example; you fall in love and you give every ounce of your being to the object of your affection. Things are going well for a while but then something happens and the relationship ends. You feel crushed and you swear to yourself that you will never again allow yourself to be so vulnerable. As a result, anytime you meet someone new, you remember that painful experience and you bring it into the new relationship.

Fear of risk also appears when it comes to the topic of making a living. For some reason there is a belief in the collective conscious that in order to make money, you will mostly likely work at a job that you do not love.

When I was a child, one of my mother’s friends told me to enjoy being a kid because when I became an adult, I would have to get a job in order to pay bills so that I could be responsible. She made it sound as if being an adult was an existence made up of misery and not joy.

Yes, we do have to be responsible for our lives and we do have to pay bills but where does it say that we have to be miserable? I have yet to see proof that we have to be unhappy in order to pay the bills.

“Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.”
~ His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama

One of the many interesting things about life is that nothing of value was ever gained by playing it safe. Take, for example, the founding of America. Fifty-six men risked their lives by signing the Declaration of Independence. Their act of signing that document constituted treason and it was a serious offense according to the laws of the British Empire. However, they knew that they needed to sign that document in order to achieve independence.

To have a life that you love requires some type of risk taking, and stepping out of your comfort zone to confront some of your fears. Let’s face it, the only sure thing in life is the fact that at some point your heart will stop pumping and this fantastic ride will be over.

When I was twenty-five, I had achieved every single material desire that I ever had. I also felt miserable. There was a huge void in my heart and soul. It scared me and I knew that I did not want the rest of my life to be a reflection or repetition of what I was feeling. So I vowed to change it.

I took a lean of faith, confronted my fears and took action that scared me. As a result, I created a new life that was based on what I loved and believed. I knew in my heart that there was more to life than just money and a title. I wanted passion and meaning. I got it.

The caveat is that sometimes when we change, it will make some people around us uncomfortable. When I decided to change, I had lost many friends. Some of my relatives disowned me and others stopped talking to me.

The loss of friends and relatives was very painful but the rewards were truly worthwhile. I made new friends who ended up becoming more like family than friends. I went from being a miserable person to being a happy person. The void disappeared. My life went from being meaningless to meaningful. It was the wisest decision I ever made in my life.

3 Keys to Overcoming Fear

So how does one go about taking risks and overcoming fear? Here is what I learned and use whenever confronted with a choice between playing it safe or leaping off the cliff into the unknown:

1. Develop Accurate Perception

Most of our experiences in life are determined by our perception. Our perception of a situation determines our thoughts and that in turn creates how we feel about a situation. Thoughts and feelings work hand in hand. Each one influences the other.

People often mistake feelings and thoughts as being the same but they are separate entities. Thoughts often determine how we feel and the opposite is true, too. However, feelings are more powerful than thoughts because feelings usually are what fuels our actions. Feelings bring our thoughts to life.

Let us say something makes you feel scared. That prompts you to worry and that worry then influences all of your actions. It affects how you talk and it even impacts your body. You get the nervous stomach and so on. That all began with a feeling.

The best thing to do when confronted with anything is to view the situation with objectivity and an open mind. Be honest with yourself, too. When you put your emotions aside and can see something independently from what you may think about it, then you can cut through any possible delusion and see the situation accurately.

 
A few months ago, I decided to launch my own business. For years, I had known that I was meant to be self-employed, it just hasn’t been the right time but that was not the case anymore.

As life would have it, the day that I discovered that I had finally gotten all the financial means needed to make my dream come true, my old job that had laid me off contacted me to come back to work. I was faced with a momentary dilemma. Should I take the steady paycheck or finally go for my dream?

I thought about what my old job was like and how I did not love it and how it made me feel so uninspired. I recalled all the long hours and the miserable co-workers. I also thought about the nice big paycheck and how that would solve a lot of financial stress. All these thoughts made my chest tighten up.

I then thought about my new business and the tightness disappeared. My heart felt joy and freedom even though it was a huge risk, even though it scared me. It occurred to me that even though this new business was just a baby, I wanted and needed to see it through and take it as far as I possibly can.

Instinctively, I knew that if I went back to my old job, it would be a huge step backwards and I wanted to go forwards. I was tired of being at a job that was not in alignment with who I was. I was able to be true to my passion in all areas of my life except for work. The time had come for me to change that. So I called my boss and told him that I refused the offer.

Now to some people, it would have seemed wise to go back to my old job and work on my business on the side. I will admit that does sound like a logical solution but it is also a solution that is rooted in fear.

Fear is tricky. It can disguise itself as being rational but it is not. Fear is like a con artist. It makes you think it is real but it only becomes real when you give in to it.

Yes, I have no idea what will become of my business but if I had gone back to my old job, I still would have had no idea what would happen. I could have easily been laid off again due to the economy or whatever.

When we look at a situation honestly and without fear, then we can see what is at stake and make a decision that is best for us. To some people, I may be crazy but I also know with every fiber of my being that I am on the right track.

2. Believe in Yourself

The interesting thing about overcoming a fear is that you need to believe that you can do it. Doubt is like cancer. It feeds on all the positive, happy thoughts and feelings you may have. Nothing kills a dream more quickly than doubt.

Now the thing about believing in yourself is that you have to have an accurate perception about yourself and the situation at hand (this is where step one comes into play).

For example, I love to sing and dance. It would be awesome to be like Madonna and have 50,000 people dancing and singing along with me. I think that would be an amazing experience.

However, no matter how much I think it would be amazing, there is no way I will become Madonna, because singing and dancing are not my strong points. I would not risk anything on that dream because I know I do not have what it takes.

Yet I am willing to give up a high paying, secure job to launch my business because I believe in myself. My business is based on what I have learned and studied for over thirteen years. I know my subject and field like I know the back of my hand. I have no doubt about my potential and/or talent. I also know that I am capable of learning more and that makes me even more secure in knowing that I am on the right path.

It is easier to take a risk when you believe that you can achieve what you are trying to do.

3. Surrender the Outcome

What usually prevents people from taking a risk is the fact that the outcome is not guaranteed. None of us are able to predict exactly what the future will bring. Therein lies the beauty of life.

Do you really want to know ahead of time what will happen? I realize that a lot of fear about the future is rooted in the concern about whether or not you will be okay.

If there is anything I have learned in my years in search of enlightenment it is this: you will always be okay and you will always land on your feet. You will also have what you need at any given moment. You may not always get what you want but that can be a blessing. For what you want is not always good for you.

When I look back at all my failed romances (and there were many), I am so grateful that none of those relationships worked out.

Things happen for a reason. The Universe is not stupid. Sometimes you will not know the exact reason for years to come. That is why it is important to surrender the outcome of any given situation.

So what does this mean? That means that you give your best to the present moment and trust that it will lead you exactly to where you need to be.

Life has an interesting way of working things out. Your job is to know what it is that you want. Visualize the feeling that you want to have. Many times people say that they want a lot of money. Actually, what they want is not so much the money but rather the sense of security.

So visualize every single feeling that you want to have. Imagine all the details but let go of the timetable and how it will show up. Your job is to give your best at any given moment. The how and the when are not your responsibility.

A small acorn eventually becomes a huge oak tree. It does that without any help from you. The same holds true for you. Plant the seeds, water them and do whatever else you need to do but let things develop in their own way and time.

Parting Words on Overcoming Fear

Shakespeare said that “life is a stage and we each must play a part.” We have the choice whether we want to play our role small or if we want to aim for an Oscar worthy performance. The choice is ours. We get out of life as much as we put into it.

Fear and risk does exist in all aspects of life. However, we become a slave to our fears only when we allow ourselves to be intimidated by it. Fear only becomes real when we believe that it is real.

Having a life that we love is our birthright. We are meant to be our best and enjoy this journey. In Buddhism, it is said that to be born as a human being is the biggest blessing of all. For in human form, we can do amazing things.

So please do not waste the precious gift you have on fear. You are capable of doing wonders. Fear is not the boss of you….you are the boss of it. Decide today that you can and will overcome your fears.

BY CAROL TICE

Trying to grow your business in this sluggish economy is a little like trying to swim through Jell-O. Ineffective or uncertain leaders definitely need not apply.

So what does it take to lead a small business through this ongoing economic mess? The blogosphere is humming with ideas lately. Here’s a roundup of the important traits for entrepreneurs in 2012:

1. Listen. Tune in to what workers and customers are saying, and you’ll find great ideas for how to move forward.

2. Give credit. Workers love leaders who acknowledge their ideas.

3. Be yourself. In our age of sound bites and phony smiles, tell your story honestly. It’s rare and refreshing, and makes workers feel like they know you — and want to help you succeed.

4. Communicate. So much company dysfunction can be prevented with clear communication. Otherwise, workers are in the dark. And soon, they won’t care.

5. Don’t be trendy. Avoid the “strategy du jour” problem. Choose a course and stick to it.

6. Beat anxiety. Stop worrying and turn your negative emotions — regret, fear, sadness — into teachers that help shape your character.

7. Be service-oriented. Leaders can be sort of self-involved, forgetting that they are in a position of leadership. To serve customers, shareholders and workers stay focused on others.

8. Be accountable. Define the results you want, and acknowledge when a screw-up is your fault.

9. Use empathy. Demographic changes have foisted more and more women into the workplace. Make sure your communication and leadership style is a fit for today’s workforce.

10. Share the big picture. If your workers don’t know the company’s overall goals, it can be hard for them to solve problems. That leaves you having to micromanage every problem instead of being able to delegate and offer guidance.

11. Keep your cool. The days when being a screamer worked are long gone. If workers are worried about whether you’re in a good mood today or not, little gets done.

12. Think like an immigrant. When you arrive on new shores, you often see the business world with fresh eyes. Use your unique perspective to spot opportunities others are missing.

What leadership traits do you think matter now? Leave a comment and give us your take.

By Dani of PositivelyPresent.com

We all want a happy life, and we all know that having a positive attitude feels better than a negative one. But for some reason, we are all attracted to and can be easily drawn to the negative side. How do we go about to establish a more positive attitude as a daily habit?

Even for someone like me, who thinks about and writes about positivity on an almost daily basis, having a positive attitude is not always easy.

I still sometimes see the world through a negative perspective, focusing on the bad and ignoring the good — especially when things aren’t going the way I had hoped. As I’ve been struggling with this lately, I’ve been reminding myself that it really is possible to change my perspective.

About a year and a half ago, I decided I was going to make a change in my life. I was going to start looking for the good, seeking the positive, and striving to make every day a joyful experience.

This was something I would have never imagined myself doing, but it’s something that has impacted my life every single day since then. I’ve had to do a lot to get to where I am right now, and I still believe I have a long way to go.

I’m not searching for any particular end point, however. All I want is to be happy, to live a life that focuses more on the good than the bad (though I do believe you need both to have a happy life).

On this road — this twisting, turning road to happiness — there have been many ups and downs. There have been challenges. There have been inspirations. There have been many amazing experiences that I never would have had if I had not made the choice to live a positive and happy life.

Recently, as I struggle to be positive about certain challenging situations in my life, I’ve been giving some serious thought to how I transformed my outlook from negative-focused to a more positive-focused one. (Note: I don’t always see the good. Like everyone, I have good days and bad days, but, for the most part, there has been a BIG shift in my attitude over the past year or so).

Though I have to admit that there are many, many factors involved in my personal development — such as my therapist, the countless books and blogs I read, creating my blog, and surrounding myself with happy, supportive people — I can say that, at the most basic level, choosing to be positive has helped me the most in terms of becoming the person I want to be.

When I think back on my transformation now, I recognize that the following five steps are the best ways to begin stumbling down that path to happiness by establishing a habit of positive attitude.

 5 Steps to a Happy Life with Positive Attitude

Step 1: Believe Happiness is a Choice

For me, this was a hard one at first. I thought that people were either unhappy or happy (and I was one of the unhappy ones). I used to blame this on all kinds of outside forces –- fate, experiences, parents, relationships –- but never really stopped to think that I could choose to be happy.

Sure, this isn’t always easy, but it is always, always an option. Teaching myself to see that happiness is a choice has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done for myself.

Now when I find myself in a bad situation, I know that it’s up to me to find the good, to be happy regardless of what’s happening around me. I am no longer pointing fingers, placing blame. I realize that everything happens how it happens and it’s up to me to choose how I want to feel about it. I am in control of my happiness level and no one can take that away from me.

Step 2: Rid Your Life of Negativity

If you want to live a positive, joyful and happy life, you cannot –- absolutely CANNOT -– be surrounded by negative people who are not encouraging your happiness. When I was a pretty negative person, I tended to attract other negative people.

When I decided to make the change to live a more positive life, I had to rid my life of all of the negative people in it. This, as you can imagine, wasn’t easy. Getting rid of people hurts -– even when you know they aren’t good for you or your current lifestyle.

Not only did I have to get rid of the negative people, but I also had to get rid of the negative things too. I had to stop doing certain things that were causing negativity in my life. I had to take a step back and examine which behaviors were good for me and which were not.

I learned to focus on the positive things I was doing and let go of the negative ones. This process was not easy and to be honest, is still ongoing, but I know this: having negativity in your life prevents you from living a truly positive existence.

Step 3: Look For the Positive in Life

There is the positive aspect in everything. In every person, in every situation, there is something good. Most of the time it’s not all that obvious. We have to look. And sometimes we have to look hard.

The old me just sat back and allowed things to happen by default. If I saw negative, I went with that feeling. I didn’t want to look harder or think too much about the good. I found it much, much easier to sit back and just accept what I saw (which was usually the bad).

Now, when I’m faced with a difficult or challenging situation, I think to myself, “What is good about this?” No matter how terrible the situation might seem, I always can find something good if I take the time to think about it.

Everything –- good and bad -– is a learning experience. So, at the very least, you can learn from bad experiences. However, there’s usually even more to it than that. If you really take the time to look, you will usually find something good, something really positive, about every person or situation.

Step 4: Reinforce Positivity in Yourself

Once I started thinking more positively and adapted to a more positive attitude, I realized I had to reinforce these thoughts and behaviors in myself so they would stick. As with any sort of training, practice makes perfect, and, yes, you can practice being positive.

The best and easiest way to do this is to be positive when it comes to who you are. Tell yourself you’re awesome. Tell yourself you look good. Tell yourself that you love and accept yourself completely. Tell yourself you did an awesome job at work or raising your kids or whatever it is you do.

Be honest with yourself, but do your best to look for the good. And, whatever you do, don’t focus on the negative. Nothing good can come of telling yourself that your butt’s too big or your latest career goal wasn’t met.

It’s okay to not like everything about yourself (yet), but don’t spend energy dwelling on the negative. Remind yourself of the good in you. We all have positive attributes and it’s up to you to remind yourself of them every day.

Step 5: Share Happiness with Others

Not only do you need to be positive with yourself for this new positive attitude to really take effect, you also need to be positive with others. You have to share your wealth of positivity with the world.

The best way I’ve found to do this is quite simple and basic: be nice. Be nice to other people, no matter what. Tell someone he or she looks nice today. Tell someone they did a great job on that presentation. Tell your parents or children (or both!) how much you love them and how great they are.

When someone is feeling down, do what you can to cheer him or her up. Send flowers. Write notes. Don’t gossip. Be kind to all living things. All of these things sound basic enough, but, for someone like me, they didn’t used to come easily.

In the past, I didn’t wanted to see the good in myself and, therefore, didn’t want to see it in others either. I used to be critical and condescending. Now I strive to be encouraging and supportive. I try not only to treat others, as I would like to be treated, but also to consider how they would like to be treated.

People appreciate positivity and the more you are sharing it with others, the more you are practicing it and reinforcing it in your own life.

 Parting Words on the Positive Attitude Habit

When you start feeling like the idea of being a positive person is daunting, tell yourself this: “If someone who really used to struggle with a negative attitude, turned her life around with these five steps, then I can too!”

If anyone had told me a few years ago that I would be writing an article about developing a positive attitude and living a happy life, I would have laughed right in their face. I would have said, “Why in the world would someone want me to write about positivity?”

But here I am, writing this post, believing in these words, and knowing that every single day I am getting closer and closer to living the happy life I’ve secretly dreamed of living. If I can do it, you can do it. Believe in yourself and remember the most important lesson of all… a positive outlook is a choice. Choose to be positive. Choose to be happy. Life is short.

By Beth Braccio Hering

Let’s face it: Staying positive isn’t always easy. From job seekers frustrated by rejections to workers dealing with everything from long hours to crabby co-workers, many people are finding it hard to put on a happy face.

Yet the ability to see the good side of things can be one of your strongest assets, both for your career and for your well-being. Here, experts explain why and offer tips on staying upbeat.

The power of positivity

Who would you rather be around each day: a sullen colleague or one with a can-do attitude? Positive people radiate an energy that makes others see them as competent and likable. Studies also show that optimists tend to be healthier, more creative and better performers.

“Companies look to hire and promote employees who can see opportunities in challenging situations,” says Lisa Quast, president of Career Woman Inc. in Seattle and author of “Your Career, Your Way!” “Managers want employees who bring solutions to problems, not who bring problems and then look to their manager to solve them.”

A positive attitude also can turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. “I often have people come to me for advice on how they can get a raise or promotion,” Quast says. “Those who come with a positive attitude that they are worthy are much more likely to accomplish their goal because their self-talk reinforces that they can figure out a way to make it happen. For those with an attitude of doubt that they will ever get what they want, negativity ends up surrounding them to such an extent that they become demotivated and don’t want to go through the steps necessary to map out an action plan to accomplish their goal.”

This doesn’t mean becoming a Pollyanna. “A positive attitude is not the same as living and working in a state of euphoria. That’s unrealistic,” says Roy Cohen, a career coach and author of “The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide.” “It’s about being upbeat and optimistic and knowing that you’ll get through and beat the odds. That’s what motivates the team that reports to you, and as a team member that’s what inspires your colleagues. When you don’t waste time and energy on negative thoughts and behaviors, you’ll have the potential to channel all of that ‘lost’ energy into activities that produce success.”

Changing your outlook

To nurture a positive attitude, Elizabeth R. Lombardo, a psychologist and author of “A Happy You: Your Ultimate Prescription for Happiness,” suggests:

Looking for the good: As a society, we have a tendency to focus on what is wrong, such as what we don’t like about our job, what others need to change, what we dislike about ourselves. Instead, try to look at what is going right and what you do like about others and yourself.

Finding a purpose: Research shows that when people have a sense of purpose and meaning in their work, they are more positive about it. What are some of the greater-good elements about your job?

Focusing on team-building: Develop bonds with your co-workers. Share a walk around the block during breaks. Have lunch together occasionally. Volunteer as a group to help those who are less fortunate. When we have a sense of belonging to a group, we are more positive and motivated to help that group.

“Another way to stay positive at work is to think of yourself as a consultant,” Quast says. “Consultants, by nature, are hired to assess the difficult situations and then create and implement action plans for improvement. They are required to remain positive and unbiased, or they risk being fired. By thinking of yourself as an ‘internal consultant,’ you can use this same mental frame of reference to help you stay positive, no matter what the situation.”

Noelle Nelson, a therapist and author of “The Power of Appreciation in Business,” adds that it helps to take the last 15 minutes of the day to organize your work space for tomorrow. “Jot down a to-do list and tidy your desk. The task will give you closure for the day and help you start tomorrow on the right foot. You also can look over the day’s to-do list and feel a sense of accomplishment about what you completed.”

One final way of developing positivity: hang around like-minded, glass-half-full people. And when you do encounter the most miserable grouch, strive to remain pleasant. “Like energy attracts like energy,” Nelson says. “Your co-worker may not understand what’s going on when you no longer get frustrated or angry over his comments or behavior, but after awhile your appreciative attitude will often be reciprocated.”

Making the Cut

A globalized market and cost-conscious OEMs are forcing vendors to find innovative ways of remaining on their customers’ shrinking list of preferred suppliers or Approved Vendors List.

Michael Barbella
Managing Editor

Much of the Western Hemisphere was sound asleep when the sea floor began to tremble, then shift as it slipped beneath the North American tectonic plate in the western Pacific Ocean. As millions lay dreaming, a historic 9.0-magnitude earthquake off Japan’s northeastern coast was creating a disaster of biblical proportions on the opposite side of the world, turning bridges and buildings into piles of rubble, triggering deadly tsunamis that wiped out whole villages and precipitating the world’s worst nuclear accident in nearly 25 years.

By the time dawn broke on the Western World on March 11, the catastrophe was unfolding, almost in real time, through 24-hour cable television networks (CNN, MSNBC and Fox News) as well as the pervasive social media outlets ofYouTube, cellphone videos, Facebook, Twitter and live blogs. Through the Internet, the world experienced virtually every moment of Japan’s trifecta of tragedies, from the heart-pounding race to prevent a nuclear meltdown at the country’s crippled Fukushima power plant; to the heartwarming rescue of an 80-year-old grandmother and her teenage grandson who were buried beneath rubble for nine days; and the heartbreaking search by 9-year-old Toshihito Aisawa for the family he last saw swept away by the tsunami that slammed into his hometown of Ishinomaki.

Aisawa’s hometown was among the dozens of cities and coastal villages flattened by the monstrous waves that crashed ashore after the undersea quake. While most of the damage was confined to areas near the epicenter (45 miles east of the Tohoku peninsula at an underwater depth of 19.9 miles), the titanic temblor still could be felt as far away as Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, 189 miles to the southwest, where the disaster sparked an oil refinery fire; and Tokyo, 231 miles to the southwest, where rolling blackouts, runs on food and massive evacuation attempts thrust the capitol into chaos, an unusual characteristic for a city that considers itself an orderly, technologically savvy, even futuristic metropolis.

It is this (usual) devotion to order as well as the cosmopolitan flavor of the city that has attracted some of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers to Tokyo over the last 20 years. Companies such as Abbott Laboratories, B. Braun Group, Covidien plc, Hospira Inc. and Medtronic Inc., among others, have opened branch offices or built manufacturing and distribution centers to take advantage of the city’s strategic location in the lucrative Asian market.

Upon learning of the quake and tsunami, executives at most of these device firms reached out to their counterparts in Japan to assess damage at their facilities and assess the potential impact to their supply chains. Some companies, such as Abbott, Hospira and Medtronic, were fortunate—their facilities suffered little or no damage and their distribution channels were not significantly impacted. Even Covidien got a lucky break: Though the quake damaged the buildings of several of its suppliers, the company had enough raw materials on hand to meet local demand. Others, however, were not as fortunate. Becton Dickinson and Company shut its plant in Fukushima to repair quake and tsunami damage and minimize employees’ exposure to dangerously high radiation levels. The company had restarted some manufacturing lines by April 5, but its facility still was not fully functional. “BD’s plant in Fukushima has now restarted some manufacturing lines, and repairs to other lines and areas of the facility are underway,” a statement on the company’s website read. “BD sources certain component parts and finished products from third-party suppliers in Japan, and continues to believe that inventories of these items will be sufficient to meet global demand for BD products.”

Misfortune also struck PartnerTech, a Swedish contract manufacturing firm serving the medical technology, defense and maritime, information technology and industrial sectors. Executives there expect the quake to impact the ability of about a dozen suppliers to distribute products or components to the firm. PartnerTech informed its customers of the potential disruption via a note on its website, but was vague about specifics—it did not identify the products that could be affected or estimate the amount of time it might take to resolve the broken supply chain link.

“About a dozen suppliers are directly affected by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami,” the note read. “In the near term, it is expected that these suppliers will have difficulties supplying components to PartnerTech as well as to other companies in the market. The situation in the longer term is difficult to predict at this time.”

During the worldwide financial crisis, some financial institutions in the United States were considered “too big to fail” (remember Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers?). The same principle now can be applied to the global supply chain, with certain Japanese suppliers having become too big to do without. Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and Hitachi Chemical, for instance, control about 90 percent of the market for a specialty resin that is used to bond parts of microchips used in smartphones and other devices. The quake damaged both companies’ production plants, as well as one owned by Kureha Corporation, which holds about 70 percent of the market for a polymer used to make the compact battery in Apple’s iPods. Similarly, German pharmaceutical, chemical and life-sciences conglomerate Merck KGaA owns the world’s only factory that supplies automakers with Xirallic, an enhanced aluminum oxide that is added to pigments to give them their metallic glow. The facility is located 28 miles from the battered Fukushima nuclear power plant, which experienced a partial meltdown after the quake and has been leaking radioactive material into the surrounding air, soil and water. As a result, the world’s major automobile manufacturers are being forced to find different kinds of paints for their vehicles or scrap certain colors altogether.

The scramble to find alternative sourcing channels in the wake of Japan’s deadly disaster illustrates the key role the supply chain now plays in the global market. It also shows how little some companies (and industries) know about their suppliers’ suppliers and those even further down the sourcing chain.

“A tremendous amount of quality resources are required to keep up with the global supply chain,” noted Gerard J. Pearce, executive vice president of SQA Services Inc., a Los Angeles, Calif.-based firm that specializes in global supplier quality management. “It’s one thing to source from around the world, but when your sourcing outpaces your supplier quality function, that leaves you open to risk. Larger companies have thousands of suppliers. They need to be selective in how they structure and apply their supplier quality resources and where they get most of their supplies from so they can minimize wasted time and interruptions in supply. When your supply chain becomes global, applying the same kinds of evaluation and controls to [offshore] suppliers that you apply to those closer to home becomes a lot harder to do.”

Glitches to Supply Chain Globalization

In his 2009 book, Dynamic Supply Chain Alignment: A New Business Model for Peak Performance in Enterprise Supply Chains Across All Geographies, supply chain guru John Gattorna, Ph.D., advises companies to adopt a new business model for their vendor networks. He claims that current approaches to supply chain design are flawed because they are based on traditional models and principles that fail to understand customers’ wishes and needs.

Companies that align themselves with their suppliers to meet customer needs will increase both their market share and total revenue, Gattorna insists in his book. In order to achieve such symmetry, however, companies must end their obsessions with cost reduction and focus more on the human aspect of sourcing. “Supply chains may seem like uncontrollable, inanimate beasts,” Gattorna notes, “but they are, in fact, living systems propelled by humans and their behavior.”

Human behavior, though, is flawed. And for companies attempting to globalize their supply chains to ensure future growth, human imperfections can be particularly challenging to overcome. Communication is one of the most common problems facing companies that establish overseas operations and supply bases in foreign countries. Language barriers can make it difficult for organizations to effectively communicate with suppliers, industry experts told Medical Product Outsourcing. Corrective actions are a prime example. Foreign regulatory agencies might require an offshore supplier to undertake a corrective action; however, the requirements for that corrective action procedure may be written in the regulatory agency’s native tongue. China’s State Food and Drug Administration, for instance, may issue a corrective action notice in Chinese, or the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency could require a supplier to respond to its corrective action request in Portugese. Companies that cannot overcome these kinds of communication gaps will have a difficult time creating a new supply chain link in another country.

Regulations can become another major hurdle in establishing a global supply chain. Statutes governing the manufacture and sale of components or materials vary between countries, making it nearly impossible to sell the same finished product in different markets.

“Where is the component or material manufactured and what regulations do we have to meet where we’re producing it?” asked Marty Gahman, associate director of strategic purchasing for B. Braun Medical Inc., a Bethlehem, Pa.-based manufacturer of infusion therapy and pain management products. “Despite talk about globalization, you can’t sell the same material or component or finished product to anyone in the world. They all have different regulations, and the more complex the product, the more difficult it is.”

Geography also makes it difficult to establish a global supply base, experts said. Most companies frequently visit suppliers to conduct audits, assess compatibility and ensure their corporate culture aligns with that of the larger organization. Suppliers located on the other side of the planet can be difficult to visit on a regular basis.

“Communication becomes more of a challenge as the supplier gets further away from you geographically,” Pearce explained. “Getting around to visit a supplier that is far away can eat into your ability as a company to manage that supplier and maintain a meaningful relationship. Aside from the time and expense, other factors such as language and cultural barriers can impact the effectiveness of such interactions with global suppliers. The on-site evaluation of a supplier, in addition to meeting regulatory requirements, can also provide additional benefits, such as better understanding a supplier’s capability and capacity, or elaborating on the customer’s interpretation of a standard. The further away these suppliers are, the harder it is to realize these benefits. Also, it’s one thing to conduct an evaluation of a supplier, but in many cases, the evaluation isn’t over until the last corrective action has been implemented. And verifying some corrective action is hard to do unless you fly out to the supplier again before your next audit. That is a big challenge.”

Some companies address this challenge by establishing regional hubs around the world to manage supplier quality in those areas. Of course, these hubs can present challenges of their own, namely, a lack of collaboration among the regional organizations as well as a reluctance to share data (including such basics as official company name, address and phone number, Pearce noted).

A number of other firms are bridging the communication gap through regionally configured supply chains, according to a survey by global management consultant firm PRTM Management Consultants titled, “Global Supply Chain Trends 2010-2012.” Regionally configured chains, the survey states, serve local customers according to their requirements, while bundling supply chain partners, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers as much as is economically possible. As a result, these regionally configured vendors serve international customers with a cost-effective network while maintaining maximum flexibility.

In addition to enhancing communication, regionally configured vendors can help manufacturing firms overcome other obstacles to globalizing the supply chain, including one of the most troubling for companies—managing a supplier network that is becoming increasingly complex due to an increase in customers or customer locations, high fluctuations in customer orders, an increase in strategic suppliers, and growth in both the number of manufacturing facilities as well as distribution centers/inventory locations.

The increase in customers is one of the top drivers of supply chain complexity, according to PRTM’s survey. Most of the 350 manufacturing and service organizations that participated in the study expect future growth to come primarily from new international customers and customized products. As a result, more than 85 percent of companies expect the complexity of their supply chains to grow significantly by 2012. Specifically, more than three-fourths (79 percent) of respondents expect an increase in the number of international customer locations, and more than two-thirds (67 percent) anticipate that a higher number of products or variants will be required to fulfill customer expectations and counter shrinking revenue, the survey indicates.

Such a dependency on international markets and customers, however, is certain to complicate companies’ efforts to manage their supply chain. Finding and winning new international business can be difficult without a thorough knowledge of foreign markets. Iran, for example, imports 97.7 percent of its medical products despite the local manufacture of basic consumable items such as syringes, needles, catheters, dental instruments and orthopedic devices. Imported medical products were valued at $597.8 million in 2008, with Germany and the United Kingdom being the leading suppliers. However, the country apparently lacks a coherent regulatory framework, and Iranian buyers are very thorough in evaluating products for purchase. As a result, foreign medical device manufacturers would be wise to find a local supplier with knowledge of the most relevant procedures.

“A hospital bed that Stryker or Hil-Rom designs for and makes in the United States won’t necessarily sell in China. The patients there like a much firmer bed,” said Dave Busch, vice president, marketing, for OnCore Manufacturing Services LLC, a contract electronics manufacturer. “You have to regionalize your supply base to fit the requirements of your end market. Also, no one supply chain fits all products. A China-only supply chain will not be optimal for a wide range of products. Johnson & Johnson makes a wide range of products, from blood glucose meters to sedation monitoring systems. You need to splinter your supply chain to optimize by product.”

When those products are proprietary, finding a supplier can become particularly difficult, experts told MPO. Many large medical device manufacturers with “unique” products usually are reluctant to enter emerging markets due to the lack of strong intellectual property (IP) protection and patent protection laws. China often is singled out for its inability to control product copycats with stringent anti-piracy laws, even though the country has strengthened its legal framework in recent years and amended its IP protection regulations to comply with the World Trade Organization agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

IP protection laws, however, vary between countries. Some of the more developed nations such as Singapore and South Korea have maintained a better reputation for protecting trade secrets. Many countries also have taken bold steps to prevent pilfering—at some Asian facilities, armed guards patrol prototyping and manufacturing areas to prevent proprietary goods from being stolen by employees.

Trade secrets are not exclusive to manufacturers, however. Proprietary content occasionally is found among suppliers as well; experts claim the discovery can add yet another layer of complexity to an already intricate sourcing chain.

“One of the things we’ve run into with a few clients is supply proprietary content. When you look to globalize the supply chain you find big pieces of product that are stuck in a country or region because of certain supplier capabilities or proprietary content,” explained Linda Meloro, principal at PRTM. “People perceive this as a huge challenge because you might have to engineer around things and if you engineer around things, then you have to go through all the regulatory hurdles. Even if a company moves a product to a different market or dual produces it in another geography, it still has to get that component from the high-cost country and ship it to the low-cost country for assembly. There’s issues like that where people will just throw up their hands and say ‘I’m just going to stay local to that supplier because they constitute such a large percentage of my product.’ There’s some stickiness that comes from that.”

Companies can address such viscous situations by identifying supplier proprietary content and working to systematically design out such components in future product iterations. “If you know where your biggest exposures are, then, with future product generations, you can focus engineering efforts on designing the risky, proprietary high-cost components. I had one client that had something like this,” Meloro recalled. “The client had to get a certain component from a particular supplier. It was high cost but this supplier was the only one that could supply it because it was their design. Well, the supplier went bankrupt and it took the engineers three months to redesign and resource that particular component. So it wasn’t quite as proprietary as everybody thought.”

Keep the Partners, Dump the Order-Takers

Several years ago, executives at Command Medical Products Inc. were reviewing feedback from the company’s annual customer survey, and they made a disturbing discovery: The Ormond Beach, Fla.-based contract manufacturer had begun to lose its inimitability with clients. The company was slipping toward a precipice it knew would endanger its ability to remain on customers’ preferred vendor lists.

“It’s critical to not go into a customer maintenance/customer service mode with your clients and simply become order-takers because that’s the death toll,” said Stephanie McGee, Command Medical’s sales and marketing director. “At that point, you’re not going to know what the customer’s needs are and the customer is not necessarily going to remember what you do outside of the product or service you are providing them at the time. That was feedback that we got several years ago, we found we were falling into that [order-taker] trap somewhat. [Customers] didn’t really remember all the things that we do at Command so when they are looking at consolidating their supplier base are we being put down as a bag supplier or are we being put down as a full contract manufacturer?”

Companies that constantly resell their capabilities are more apt to remain on their customers’ preferred supplier lists. Over the last several years, OEMs and other large medical device manufacturerssteadily have been trimming their vendor lists in order to cut costs and improve visibility (and accountability) in the supply chain. The trend has forced contract manufacturers and outsourcing providers to find innovative ways of staying in their customers’ good graces.

Many of the tips for staying on a preferred vendor list are basic and follow good manufacturing practices: communicate openly and honestly, respond quickly and positively to requests for improvement, contain costs, integrate quality throughout the organization and the product development life cycle, be financially sound and demonstrate expertise in serving the medical device industry (most of these pointers also can double as vendor evaluation tools).

Some companies, however, go a step further to win long-term approval by making upfront investments to secure a contract, filling a market niche, or as OnCore’s Busch suggests, “act like a service company.”

“Products are tangible and hard and real and we think that’s what the value is. But services are intangible and amorphous,” he noted. “Lots of industries have had a hard time with this concept. Look at the airline industry. For years it was run by airplane guys who thought of themselves as an airplane company that carried people around rather than a transportation company that oh, by the way, just happens to use airplanes to take people around. If you could move from one space to another safely and less expensively, would you care if it was an airplane or an angel? No. Most people wouldn’t care. Companies have to think in terms of the service the customer wants and not necessarily how it is delivered. Those that do, separate themselves from everyone else.”

Other ways suppliers can separate themselves from other vendors in the chain is by meeting customer needs that are not verbalized in a formal contract. Or, by acting as an extension of their OEM customer.

“From robust quality practices to proactive approaches to reducing costs, today’s suppliers must operate as an extension of the OEM customer,” said Jim Reed, vice president of sales and business development at Accellent Inc., a Wilmington, Mass.-based provider of outsourced medical device manufacturing services. “In years past suppliers would often tout their ISO or FDA registrations as a differentiator and perhaps as a means to win new business. In today’s highly sensitized regulatory environment, these registrations are simply a game stake. Our customers expect for Accellent’s quality practices to be the same or even better than their own internal practices.”

* * *

The globalization of the medical device market has increased the complexity of the industry’s supply chain sector during the last decade. Many manufacturers now look to foreign markets for long-term growth and increasingly are establishing operations in other countries to secure the financial viability of both their organizations and their products. But to ensure future growth, companies must be able to address various supply chain challenges, including demand volatility, increasing complexity and globalization, greater cost pressures and more extensive sourcing risks.

Consequently, suppliers must be willing to grow with their OEM partners and adapt to their changing needs. Those that become an extension of their clients, anticipate unspoken desires and are willing to make both a financial and strategic investment in the relationship stand the best chance of retaining their “preferred vendor” title. Accordingly, those that fail to deliver the best cost, on-time delivery and do little to foster their relationships with clients most likely will be released from their contracts. There is still hope, though, for the former favorites who want to rekindle their relationships with OEMs. Industry experts claim the fix is simple—determine the reason for the dismissal and create a plan to correct the deficiency. Or, follow Busch’s advice: Don’t end up there in the first place.

by PAUL CASTAIN on MARCH 8, 2011

Perhaps the lowest hanging of the low hanging fruit is the referral and yet we don’t ask for them nearly enough!

I’m sure there are a variety of reasons for this ranging from “feeling funny asking the dude/dudette” to not having a good way to ask.

Today, we shall tackle both!

My Dad taught me something years ago, that I never forgot. He told me that everyone likes the feeling of being respected enough to be asked for suggestions on:

A cool restaurant

A book or resource

An opinion on something

And yes, other people to do business with! Why? Because it sort of gives that person an ego jolt. It tells them their perspective matters!

It makes them an authority, even if just for that moment!

File that one away just in case you ever feel funny asking.

Next, you need to understand something about the moment you ask for a referral. When you ask someone for a referral they have mucho other things they are thinking about and quite frankly, they don’t have you, your company and more importantly, who they know on the brain.

That’s why you have to jog their memory!

Here’s how it works. Go ahead and ask for the referral any way that you wish. I’m not here to change that. I would simply suggest that you jog their memory by suggesting Groups Of People. Why? Because it’s a much more logical sequence for the brain to process than trying to access 150 or more people in their world.

By suggesting a group, their mind starts to think of everyone who falls into that group.
Here’s how I do it:

Neil (make sure their name is Neil or you will piss them off) Is there anyone you can think of that could also benefit from the types of services I offer? Friends, perhaps someone you do business with, a golfing buddy?

I suggest 3 different groups because the mind can process things really well in 3’s!

Note: This requires some Pre Call or Pre Referral Planning on your part. You need to think about the best “3″ for this client.

Perhaps they are really active on Linkedin or a sports enthusiast. Perhaps they belong to several organizations, have a large family. Think about your client and where you can get the most bang for your referral buck!

Ok, that brings us to a rather “Sales 101” moment, but its worth mentioning. Hopefully, you agreed with my Dad’s philosophy about people feeling good about referring people. To that end we must anchor that behavior! We can do it by obviously showing immediate gratitude in the form of both a verbal and written thank you! We can give a sincere compliment about how well our contact is networked. (kind of strokes the ego, doesn’t it?)

But wait, there’s more. We should not only take exceptional care of the referral, we need to talk up (sincerely) the person who referred us and keep them posted on the progress!

The final advice I have for you comes from an old boss of mine who I will not dignify by writing his name, because quite frankly, he under paid me and jerked me around, but I digress. He used to tell me, every time I’d bring home the bacon:

“Like I always say Paulie. If you don’t ask, you don’t get”

So here’s to asking gang. Sometimes you just have to embrace the side of the brain that says “What the heck?”

by PAUL CASTAIN on MARCH 2, 2011

Whether a client says it to your face, behind your back or simply thinks it, your offering is subject to . . .

How is this better?

What’s the difference between this and your competitor’s offering?

What’s the difference between this and simply doing nothing?

And perhaps even a “So what?” or three!

What’s a Jedi to do?

Here are 3 ideas to help!

1) Say It First: By far one of the most overlooked opportunities in sales. Take a good look at everything your product, service and even “YOU” do. Now, stop listening to that voice in your head that tells you “everyone does that” and consider telling it to your prospect! Why? Because everyone might, in fact do those things, but do they tell prospects about it? The concept here is that if you are the first one to make it an actual selling point, then you have presented a difference!

Note: Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to find huge differences to present, that we miss small differences along the way. Stack a few small differences on top of each other and they add up real quick!

2) Say It Better: Think about all the intangibles you offer and then find a way to make them more tangible. For this one, think about the Verizon commercials. They could tell you all day long about their network, but what the heck does a network look like? I’m thinking cables and all kind of ugly electrical crap. Not on their watch! They illustrate their network with a cool Verizon dude and all his merry dudes and dudettes! Paints a different picture. No?

Here’s another way to say it better: Offer evidence! Things like demonstrations, samples, examples, testimonials, stories, analogies and metaphors, facts etc. Otherwise you’re just talking jibberish dude!

3) Say It Exclusively: Is there something that only your company can say? Is there something unique about your product or service? Think hard . . . could there be even a tiny thing that only you can say that could make a difference?

Example: When I worked for Dale Carnegie we used to make it a point to work in the fact that we had trained over 8 million participants. There aren’t many who can say that.

I saw an H&R Block ad that mentioned that they had serviced over 500 million people.

Did you know? One time I was in this meeting with one of my sales reps and we were in this neck and neck race with two other companies. Even though she made an awesome presentation, the prospect was still on the fence and let us know point blank.

An idea hit me like a ton of bricks so I said “Dude (his real name removed because dude is way cooler) Carmen was being very modest and didn’t mention that the true differentiator, is Carmen. Without her, all these selling points are meaningless, and to my knowledge she is available exclusively through our company and not theirs”

Moral of The Story: Don’t ever be afraid of touting the exclusivity of that incredible client advocate called “YOU”

Sustainable, competitive advantage? Yeah baby!

Just make sure you not only say it, you back it up with some of that evidence to support your point!

One final note about presenting a difference.

I’m not suggesting, for one minute that you spew these things like some leisure suit wearing power closer from the 70’s.

All of these techniques should be worked into a presentation that is addressing needs uncovered during your needs analysis.

Now get out there and demonstrate your difference!

by PAUL CASTAIN on JANUARY 19, 2011

A sales trainer walks into a room of sales reps and asks them how they build rapport and guess how they respond?

“I generally look around my prospect’s office to see what they are interested in and make conversation based on what I see”

You saw that one coming right?

Do you think that approach might be a tad predictable too?

Just for the heck of it, here are 10 things for you to think about, beyond scanning the office for things to comment on.

1) How about Engaging In Meticulous Pre Call Planning? How about researching not only the company but the prospect. Already do that? Using Google? So does everyone! Make sure you are researching your prospect on Linkedin, Twitter, their blog. Use http://socialmention.com to see what kind of social networking foot print they are leaving. Oh and by the way, if you find something out about them like they sing in a band, run in 5k’s etc, don’t you dare disregard that. What’s everyone’s favorite subject again? You keep that in your back pocket dude! And make sure you keep listening for clues after the meeting too!

2) Respect the fact that they will in turn Google you! Having your own online footprint gives them the ability to start to get to know you. Remember that old sales axiom that “Customers buy us before the company”, well that process actually begins before they even meet you.

3) Consider using an agenda statement to begin your meeting. Doing so allows you to take control without being controlling and goes a long way in the “first impression” department. Here’s one that I teach my sales students.

First and foremost I’d like to thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. With your permission, I’d like to cover 3 things.

First: I’d like to find out more about you and your company, specifically any challenges or opportunities I might be able to help you with.

Next, share with you how we’ve been able to help other widget companies

Last, but not least, decide on a next step that makes sense.

Is there anything else we should add?

4) Ask Better Questions! The quality of our relationships rest in our ability to have quality communication. Quality communication comes from asking quality questions. When was the last time you took a good look at your Needs Analysis. Oh, and asking the questions others don’t ask, earns you more rapport points than commenting on that picture that the other 500 sales reps just commented on. Just sayin!

5) Understand This At All Cost: They have a story and want to be heard so . . . don’t be so anxious to check off question #3 (to rush to #4) that you fail to listen. And by the way, show some freakin empathy dude. When someone tells you how they got screwed over by their vendor or they got reamed out by the boss because of the TPS reports . . . that’s your cue to care. So listening, caring and . . .

6) Facilitate The Meeting. When you facilitate a meeting you don’t just stop at the first answer they give you. You ask continuation questions like “How so?” “What happened then?” “Tell me more”. Ask if someone has a different spin, get conflicting opinions out there, get everyone’s emotions going. A Note About Inclusion: Don’t assume that the least vocal from their team has the least power. Might be soft spoken but a behind the scenes ass kicker. Make sure you include them by asking for their thoughts. Yep, its that “everyone has a story and wants to be heard” thing again!

7) Strategic Use Of Silence: People have a nervous need to fill silence. Make sure it isn’t you. In fact, place some well thought out silence in after they respond. Just don’t wait too long, or they will pat your head and think you are your industry’s answer to Forrest Gump.

If you are going to “Mirror” someone, don’t just mirror their body language. Mirror the jargon they use. Mirror their sensory language. Example “I hear you” “I see what you mean” “I feel like this . . . “ You can even mirror the way they structure their emails etc but that’s a discussion for another day.

9) Make Promises: There is something about keeping a promise that we’ve come to appreciate since we were young. Instead of getting them those samples on Tuesday, promise like this: “Jane (make sure their name is Jane) I promise to get you those samples on Tuesday” And now the fun part, the icing on this delicious rapport building cake. Tuesday, when you see Jane again, you say “Here are those samples as promised” Say that enough times throughout the courtship and you are selling at a subconscious level. Actually, scratch that . . . they are buying you at a subconscious level.

10) Get A Tour: Something crazy happens when you leave the formality of a conference room . . . people lose their formality. Additionally, you create energy by moving and you get to learn behind the scenes stuff. Kind of a cool way to differentiate yourself too since most people don’t ask for a tour.

OK gang, there you have it. There’s certainly more we could have covered but my mission today was to get you thinking beyond the old “scanning around the office for things to talk about” thing.

And besides . . . what if they borrowed someone else’s office. Try recovering from that one!

The Last Christmas “Gift”
by PAUL CASTAIN on DECEMBER 22, 2010

Tucked away in a safe place within the walls of my heart, is a vision of my Father, Christmas Eve some 23 years ago. I can vividly see the look upon his face because it was a look that transcended all expression. It was beyond gratitude or joy and it was as if he were recording our faces, our voices and acts to be filed deep within his soul. It was as if he had something to say, but couldn’t express it. I didn’t know what it was but I felt it to be profound and deep!

It was that Christmas that I learned something that I have since referred to as “The Gift”!

12 days later a family meeting was called by my Father and he obviously had something on his mind. With a heavy heart he shared with us that before he was released from the hospital ( a few days before Christmas) he was told that the cancer had spread and he was given 3 months to live. He explained to us that he didn’t want to ruin our holiday and wanted to give us the 12 days of Christmas.

That day a light bulb went off for me as I realized that on Christmas Eve, my Father was drinking it all in for the last time. Less than 3 months later, my Father passed away.

So let me ask the question for you . . . where’s “The Gift” in that? There are in fact many if you would do me the honor of reading on.

The first is a constant reminder that if my Dad could keep himself from wearing devastating news on his sleeve, perhaps I can keep whatever BS I’m going through off of mine! And let’s not to pretend that we don’t all have a little of that BS via the boss, the A-Hole who just stole the parking spot, the kids, the wife, the bills and for the “Bah Humbug” crowd . . . the season!

Whenever I’m guilty of wearing those things on my sleeve, perhaps I’m also guilty of getting in the way of someone else’s joy. Something for us all to think about next time we care to offer someone an invite to our pity party. Might be a “gift” in understanding that one!

The other “gift” is savoring the moment, involving all of your senses and living the holiday (and dare I say, our lives) as if this will be the last one. Someday we’ll be right!

I believe there is also a “gift” in catching yourself enjoying that moment. Don’t they call it the “present” for a reason? Personally, I think it sucks when we are enjoying a moment solely in retrospect! I triple dog dare you to catch yourself in the act of enjoying your life!

Gratitude is yet another gift that I have taken away from that event. Gratitude that I saw the moment when my Dad was savoring his last Christmas. In that moment, I was able to share something very profound . . . a moment when someone who had come to the end of their journey was counting their blessings!

Additional “gifts” come from that knowledge too. All of us have an expiration date. If you knew you were on your final 3 months, would you be filled with regret or gratitude? Perhaps there’s even another “gift” in starting, right now in positioning ourselves for a “regret free” life!

There’s still more, I promise!

If we can’t embrace gratitude, how about refusing to allow resentment to enter our lives? You know, not even once during my Dad’s final days did I get a vibe of bitterness that his life would be cut short at 65. Instead of anger that Christmas, Dad was thankful.

“The Gift” is also an opportunity for us to become selfishly selfless. It means finding a need, thinking beyond ourselves and giving unconditionally. How?

Giving of encouragement. Never, ever underestimate the power of giving someone the ability to take another round!

Giving of our time, our patience and our genuine interest!

Giving of our prayers . . . who doesn’t need a little spiritual good press?

The “gift” of forgiveness as well as the “gift” to remove our egos long enough to ask someone else to forgive us!

And in true “Charity begins at home” fashion . . . how about the gift of forgiving yourself for your shortcomings?

The final “gift” is the ability to take our own sad stories, challenges and speed bumps and somehow take a lesson from them. In that moment, you may have something that becomes “a gift that keeps giving”!

With that, I want to thank you all for my “gift” . . . the opportunity to share something personal and profound. I share it with the hope that it will breed numerous gifts for you!

Please take a moment to savor and celebrate the many gifts that surround you! They are there my friend . . . sometimes we just have to look harder!

Oh, and before I forget . . . Dad, thank you for “the gift”!

Wishing you and your family blessings of peace, joy and more “gifts” than could ever fit underneath your tree!

Happy Holidays from a humbled and grateful

Paul Castain

Peace!