PJ's Thoughts to Sleep On.

Faith - Remove the Braces

2011-10-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post. I apologize, wait, no I don't. I said a while back I don't want to turn out blog post like they are going out of style and write useless garbage. Anyways, here we go....

This past Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to speak the Gospel to the youth and college groups of Alberta Baptist in Tuscaloosa. While doing my introduction on who I am, I told the kids that around the age of twenty-five, God took the braces off my legs and told me it's time to stand on your own, and make your faith your own. You may be asking yourself, make your faith your own? Yes, make your faith your own.

See a lot of times we let the people who are around us, shape our faith. Whether it's parents, grandparents, brother, sisters, or friends, our faith is attached to them, not the Being that makes us whole. Now, I'm not sitting here writing this preaching to you, because this was me.

The reason this is fresh on my mind is this, the past months I have interviewed at several different churches regarding open youth minister positions. One thing that I've said at all the interviews is I hope while in the youth group, I hope the kids go through a process of making their faith, their own. Why am I stressing this?

Well, working with youth and being the son of a youth minister and music minister, I've seen kids come in, look like they are doing all the right things, taking their faith by the horns and really realizing a true relationship with Christ. Then, they roll off to college and they get consumed in society and their so called faith is left hanging in the closet. They may show all the outward motions of what a Christian looks like, but on the inside they are in dire torment. Then later in life, we have something happen to us, then we go crawling back to our faith. Yep, this was me too.

See, I don't care how many people really read this. But what I do care about is for those that do and may be struggling with this, take your faith by the horns. Stand on your own two legs and truly see God. If that means leaving a church you've been at since a kid, or worshiping with your parents, plugging into a small group with no one you know, or not going to the popular church on your campus, do what YOU need to do to fully realize what a relationship with Christ looks like. If you really don't know what to do, go to a minister you have a close relationship with. That's what they are there for...guidance and ministering.

Molly, One Great Dog

2011-06-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

In 1998, my parents bought a new house. Shortly after buying the house, my dad bought my mother an early Christmas present. That present, a dog. My father went by the pet-smart off vallydale and found this Bassett/golden retriever mix named Molly. So, the family needed to approve and we all loaded up on that Friday night and we went down to check this year old pup out. There was no doubt we fell in love and there was no doubt she did either. As my mom walked Molly around the store, Molly put her nose to the floor, sniffed around, and found my brother and myself. She had secured herself a home. She then squatted down and left her mark in pet-smart.

However, Molly was already house trained from her previous owner and had no problem finding the back door to our home once she joined our family. She was a short dog with a long body and floppy ears due to her Bassett traits but she had the heart of a golden. She loved to run around the backyard in circles and yes, even chased her tail from time to time.

Molly was the first dog we had ever owned that was primarily an inside dog. She loved to be pet. She'd walk over to you, find your forearm or hand and throw that cold nose to it until you would pet her. If she could, she would have sat there for days like that. The only bad habit she had was she loved to dig through the trash. She did it a quite bit more when she was younger, but that's something very easy to let slide. The one thing I could tell Molly hated most of all, was overnight stays at the vet. When the family would go on vacation, she'd end up there for a few days. But, we always tried to make it back in time to grab her so she would always be at home when we were. However, she did get to go to Destin with us one year and I'm pretty sure she loved it. Well maybe all except the travel part.

Molly was a loyal dog. A story that always sticks out to me was in 2000, my parents came home one night after a football game and guess who greeted them in the front yard, yep, Molly! Someone had opened the gate to our fence and Molly had wondered out, but just to explore our front yard. So after that, she earned the privilege of going into the front yard with no leash. Molly loved going just to the left of the house and rolling around on her back in the Bermuda grass. Then we'd have to bribe her in with treats. Her little game with us I think.

Molly had three favorite spots in the house. One, her bed. She loved laying on it and laying her head flat on the hardwood floor. Second would be the rug at the end of my parents bed. And lastly would be in the den right beside the couch. Now outside she had about the same number of spots. One was over on the left side of the deck in the sun, second was by the house next to the den window, and lastly the front corner of the backyard under a blueberry tree. Yes, she would sometimes have a bluish tint because of this. I always loved when I came home and she was outside in the backyard. She would be at the gate barking and I'd look around the corner of the house throw my head to the left and she'd take off. Where would she take off to? Well she'd be waiting for me at the backdoor for me to let her in, and I always would.

I'm pretty sure I could go for days telling stories about her. And Molly was a great dog, really the perfect dog in my opinion. She slowed down in her latter years but all she wanted to do was be loved and that was not hard to do. I'm glad my pops found her back in 1998. I truly love her and will miss her everyday.

Next Moves...

2011-05-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years, I've been noticing a a change. A change in me. Yet at times, I kept running from this change I was feeling. To be honest, I have no idea why I was running because the very thing I was running from was something that I knew since 6th grade.

For the past 4 years, I have wanted to pursue a career in MLB. Mainly somewhere in the front office and at some point be in a position to call the shots. Well if you notice, I wrote I have wanted. So I went back to school at Alabama pursuing a degree in Economics and a minor in Computer Science. But during the past year, I was feeling that this track was not where I would end up. However, during the spring I applied for many internships with-in MLB and also one with the PGA. Nothing developed from those applications. To be honest, I'm glad they didn't. I didn't need another distraction.

See, over the past few years, God has been working on me. He has slowly been revealing his plan for me. But to be honest, his plan was revealed to me in 6th grade, but I attached myself to things that were shinier to me. But the thing that was revealed to me in 6th grade and re-revealed to me the past few years was a calling in to ministry, specifically student ministry.

I've had issues of making decisions off the hip a lot in life. So, while making this one, I stayed focused on His word and also sought advice from many who had made this decision before me. I walked away from all those conversations with a lot to think about, yet so much confirmation of this calling. I'm really really excited to see what's next and continue this journey. I have decided to stay on the track I'm on at school and then head to seminary. Which one? I'm not sure. Currently starting to look and see where God is leading.

What I ask of you. Pray that I will continue to seek God's will and He will lead me in each decision along the way.

Out Of Whack

2011-01-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

In life, we have this picture of what our life is supposed to look like. We have these ideas of what we should own, what we should do for a living, and the order it should all take place. We're supposed to set up priorities to keep us in check, and in my life, that was the one thing I over looked. I over looked the placement of these priorities.

From age 19-25 my priorities were very much out of whack. My ambitions were in my socioeconomic status and not based in my faith. I've been a Christian since the age of 7. I knew where I should place my priorities, but due to a lack of positive Christian influences and my own discipline, I placed my priorities else where. So during the years I mentioned above, I accumulated money, stuff, and friends that fueled these worldly desires. In my mind I had everything, I had the money, I had the truck, I had the lifestyle, but really I had nothing other than stuff that didn't matter.

After a long 2005, I decided to examine my life and where I stood. It wasn't until late 2009 that I realized my faith was not as strong as it needed to be and I had let worldly ambitions trump my faith. Even though I was going to church, volunteering, and in Bible study, I was still just going through the motions. This journey that I have been on over the past few years continues as I write this. I now know what is of most important to me, and where my priorities should be placed.

Looking back, those years where I was chasing worldly desires were some of the most empty times of my life. And now I might not have all the things that this world seems to judge us by, but I know where my desires are fueled from and very happy that my priorities are in place.

Just in case your wondering my priorities:
1. God(church)
2. Family and Friends
3. School
4. Work

Where's the Sound?

2010-10-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Silence is a funny thing. Sometimes silence is welcomed, yet at other times it is not. When silence is not welcomed, it seems like everything around you soaks up any possible sound. You wait for a sound to pierce the heavy air. What ever that sound is, it's usually pretty welcomed. Where's the sound?

Why I'm Hating Social Media

2010-10-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while since my last blog post and it's more than likely a good thing. Less blog post from me means less unforced garbage that you probably didn't want to read anyways. But for this post, I've got a quick little thought on what we have come to know as social media.

As much as I like all the positives about social media, deep down inside, I really hate it lately to be honest. Here's why....

I think it can compromise relationships to be honest. No matter if it's a good friend, someone you're dating, or a family member. Updates from a close friend can lead you to think or realize how much that person may really bug the hell out of you. Updates from someone you're dating can lead you to know everything that's happened during the day that takes an element out of the conversation of that relationship. And family members, I guess that could be a combo of one and two.

So these thoughts above had led me to unfriend, unfollow, and delist some people because I want some intrigue left. Is that the answer? I'm not sure, just looking for balance I guess. What do you think?

Beautiful Disaster

2010-07-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

Well over the next 12 or so hours, tropical depression Bonnie is suppose to roll over the Florida Keys. Why do I care that it's rolling over the keys? Well mainly because, that's where I am right now. Is it a big deal, no. I've been through storms much worse than what I'll see the next few hours. However, it's sad to watch mother nature tear something a part. Something someone took time to make, or build is destroyed in a matter of minutes. But at the same time, it's beautiful to watch something fight to stay together. At times it may look like it won't make it, but it does. It comes out of the storm beaten up, but it made it. It can be made new again because it weathered the storm...

Unknown vs. The Known

2010-06-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

What is it about the unknown that is so attractive? Everything can be laid out, plans set in place, and you can have that sense of security with the known. However, there is something about the unknown that draws you in. As much as you want to dismiss it and focus, you can't. What is it?

Blood, Sweat,....

2010-06-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

Well Sunday I ended up being tempted to hit the water, by myself. I've done it many times and never really had any thought about getting hurt or anything of the sort. Well five minutes into my run down the lake on the sea-doo, I took a huge wave throwing me into the steering controls upon the so called landing. Luckily I didn't slam my face in to the controls, instead I hit around my collar bone area. After riding the sea-doo sideways for a few seconds, I righted the XP and kept going. Then a few minutes later after rubbing upper chest and neck area, my hand felt like it was covered with a warm substance...yep, blood! Looking in my mirrors, I could see the cut and blood running down my chest. So I stopped and jumped in the water to wash it off. Well after about 20 minutes the bleeding stopped and I continued on for the rest of the day, however being a little timid for a good little while.

Any ways, being alone on Sunday and empty house this week, has led me to do a lot of thinking. For me that's usually not a good thing. So have you ever wanted something and then when that moment came, the excitement wasn't there? That's something I'm going through right now and I don't know why? You would think something that has been in the making for over two years would excite you. But right now I'm not.

Summer Time and white lies...

2010-06-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Summer has to be my most favorite time of year, hands down. I am tempted every single day to drive to the lake to enjoy this time of year. The hotter the weather, the better in my opinion. It really doesn't matter to me if I am riding my sea-doo, wakeboarding, fishing, or just sitting on the dock, I want to be near the water.

But this time of year also reminds me of summer camps for some reason. While I was in high school, my best friend and myself would end up going to sports medicine camps. We always looked forward to going to these camps because every year we would some how end up in the basement of a dorm somewhere partying with the summer school kids, even though we were told not to. I guess two kids that never did anything except break curfew felt somewhat like rebels. These actions at summer camp might have led to us also skipping school during lunch only to return for two final classes, who knows?

But the one thing I remember most about these camps were you could be anyone you wanted to be. We would choose anything from the son of a CEO from a well known company, to son of an owner of a pro baseball team. We didn't care really. We knew we would more than likely never see any of these kids again, so why not?

In the end, it never caused any harm and we had fun with it. Looking back it was probably pretty stupid because we both came from very good back grounds. But hey, we were just kids and it was summer time.

My Backwards Little Life

2010-05-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

As I was following people back the other day on twitter, I saw one name that stuck out. That name was @NoMeatBalls. Instantly it made me think of how did she came up with that name. Well luckily I saw a tweet with a link to her blog telling about how she came up with that name. And yes, of course it really had to do with meatballs. If you want to see how she came up with @NoMeatBalls, click the link below.

http://commpassion.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/whats-in-a-twitter-name/

So, that led me to this sequence of letters and spaces that make up this post. Over the past year, I've been fielding a question of my own. Why are you back in college and you're only about to be a junior? Well I really can't tell you how many times I've answered this question. Sometimes I really don't care to explain and blow it off. So here goes...

At the young age of 19, I decided that I wanted to have a career in real estate. I took the class, took the test, and went about my way. Shortly in to interview process, no one took this bright eyed kid serious. I was a little tattered after the process and decided to go back to school. I took a few months to figure out what I wanted to study and went from there. Well after a few semesters back and not being focused, feeling burnt out, and losing a small fortune in the Healthsouth fiasco, I knew I did not want to stay on the track I was on.

By this time I was about 22 and said three years was far away from 19 and so I went back to real estate. At this time, I had just about every major real estate company in Birmingham wanting to talk to me. I was pumped and excited and ready to get rolling! So I took a residential job hoping for the opportunity to break into development at some point. Well that opportunity came about two years into the process and I thought I was riding high! An internship turned in to a full-time paid position with an up and coming development firm. Score, right?

Well...so much for riding high, that job turned in to a very tough learning experience. So losing the desire to wake up and go do real estate everyday, that 27 year old was out of shape and feeling like he was 40...no really, 40. I needed to go back to school and get the degree I wanted. I knew I wanted an Economics degree and graduate degree of Sports Management. During this time, I changed jobs to the current job I am at now with Art Promotional/Magnetsfast. I started taking classes at a junior college to get back in the routine of school once again. At the Jr. college, I never really had to field the questions of why I was back in school at age 27. I guess that's because their were a lot of people my age and older roaming the halls. It kind of felt more like a retirement home/rehab unit to be completely honest.

The questions really started coming when I transferred to Alabama in early 2009. There I was, a 28 year old feeling like I was start a come back in the major leagues and sitting in classes with 19 to 21 year olds. At first I really didn't talk much to people around me. I felt like I was in the special forces, get in and get out. I think I felt that way since I wasn't on campus much didn't think I needed to talk much. But that changed because I'm pretty social and it's what college is all about. Once people started figuring stuff out, so did the questions. I'll say it did get tiring but it made me feel a lot more comfortable about the whole deal.

So the last few years I feel like I'm living a backwards life. I'm suppose to be settling down right now, right? But instead it's more like starting over/fresh. I went from working 24/7 to a working/college kid trying to balance it all out. I might be 29 right now but I really feel 24 or 25. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in and I feel like I'm where I'm suppose to be. Who knows what will happen, but I sure have learned a lot in this backwards life of mine....so far.

Time

2010-05-09T20:40:00.001-07:00

This subject has been on my mind here lately for a lot of different reasons. Time is something that every inherits. Some people are very blessed with time, while others are not. I really thought about this during the time of my Grandmother's death. She was on this earth for 91 years. She was very blessed with time and I'm so thankful for the time I had to spend with her. And on the flip side, my cousin who passed away 5 years ago, was not blessed with time. You know there were things I looked forward to with him, like those big and small moments in life. However, the Lord had different plans.

I seem to think I take time for granted some times. You never know how long someone will be in your life. Some you meet and you know them for the rest of your life. Some you meet and it could only be for a couple of days. While others may come and go during different times of your life. You know, time is a funny thing and as much as we would like to control time, we can't and sometimes that just sucks.

Catching my breath....I think.

2010-05-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

No post in a while due to finishing up the semester. So now it's summer time, or close to it at least and it's my favorite time of year no doubt. So now that school is out of the way until fall what's on tap? First off, work but that's a given. So what's the fun stuff? Well Friday heading to a concert with some friends, which should be fun. Of course many trips to the lake which is a summer staple for me. Also I've planned trip to Jacksonville, in which we will also hit up Orlando and hopefully be able to get over to St. Pete to catch a Rays game. A friend and myself are tying to get a trip planned to St. Louis to visit some friends and yes, catch a Cards game, but we have a little inside connection there and would be the reason to go. And lastly, a trip to Chicago for a trade show in July for a week. Really looking forward to getting up to Chicago and seeing what it has to offer. Oh yeah, catching a Cubs/Phils game while in town. So that's really what's on tap for the summer so not looking like I'm catching my breath, but that's okay.

Its not about winning or losing

2010-04-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Man, has there ever been something that you wanted to prove to others that they were wrong? I have and you know what, it's not about winning or losing to be honest. It's just that gut feeling for me. You have to love those gut feelings...because sometimes you just know.

Stressed

2010-04-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Stress is a funny thing. A few years ago I was dealing with a lot of stress and it pumped my blood pressure up quite a bit. I've been lucky the last few years and not had to deal with that. But for some reason, when I have something on my mind, and needing to express it, I feel that stress creeping back in. I've been dealing with this for the last few days. For some reason I feel time is against my side in some instances. It may not be at all, but for some reason I feel it is.

Where Are The Words?

2010-04-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days I guess that is made for writing. Sitting here re-writing my IBA 250 paper after I thought the first one I wrote was junk. I've pretty much have an A for the class and could make a C on this final paper and still walk with a low A. However, I want to put my best foot forward even if I really don't care for this class that much. Anyways that's not why I'm writing this post. I'm writing it because I've got a post in mind but I can seem to write it or really make sense of it. My thoughts are kind of lost. I really don't know why that is. You ever have those times where you know how you feel about something, but you can't put them in to words? That seems to be the case...

Wait, what?

2010-04-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

Had a great time tonight hanging out with an old friend. Sometimes it takes those times to realize what's really going on with you. So many times you can just gloss over things and run with it. When you get into those deep conversations and what not, is when you really know what's going on.

Bad to Good

2010-04-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

Sitting here studying for a test and I saw a post on twitter about someone that is about to graduate, and at the end of the tweet it said real world. For some reason that sparked my thoughts about the good and bad I've seen in people over the last few years. For a while there, it seemed like everything that surrounded me was in a sense....dirty or bad. A lot of it came down to the morals and ethics of people. It came to a point where I had to cut a lot of people out of my life, and some were close friends. However, in a blog I wrote last Thursday, I commented about how the people that I am surrounded by right now could not be more perfect. And I mean that. I'm not going to lie, I had a jaded view of people there for a while and didn't know who I could really trust. I'm glad that has changed.

Beat...

2010-04-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

After a weekend, I think you're supposed to feel refreshed and ready for the week. But I'll tell you, right now I wish I had a few more days before beginning this week. This is the last week before dead week at school which means a few test and working on my final paper for IBA which I've been doing all afternoon. To be honest, I'm ready to get this week out of the way and heading in to it feeling beat is not the way I wanted to start it. Hopefully it ends up being better than expected.

Decisions

2010-04-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

Many of you may not know but I'm finishing up school at Alabama. I must say, I've enjoyed my time on campus thus far. I had some thoughts about maybe leaving to cut out the driving between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. However, I've felt at home being on campus at Alabama. It might be because I've spent the first few years of my life here and it's always kinda been home in a sense. I've got a little more time here and then it will be time for a new chapter. The funny part is, the people I'm surrounded by right now could not be more perfect. And it's a little scary knowing I what will be next and where it takes me. Sure, I've got some places only target list but nothing is 100%. All I can say is, what a ride it's been and damn, I can't wait to see what the future holds.

Unexpected

2010-04-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I love baseball. Just as anything, there was our time where we did not see eye to eye. So naturally I'll use baseball sayings and such at times. One that I use very often is "you were expecting a fastball and got a curve". Basically, you thought you knew what was coming, but instead you got something totally different and had to wait and/or make adjustments.

Well, I thought about that tonight as there were some changes in an opportunity I was looking forward to. Is it the end of the opportunity? No, not at all. Does it make me think about some decisions that I had pretty much already made? Yes, it does.

You Know What They Say...

2010-04-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago as I was sitting in religion class, I wrote a post about assuming. Instead of posting that one, I'll write a new one. It's been a problem that I've always kinda had. Whether it was in school, business, or personal life...I just seem to assume a lot of things. Sometimes my assuming causes trouble, while in others it's harmless. I not really sure why I did at times, but it's something that I am bound and determined to put an end to. So, from here out, no more assuming.

Trying...

2010-04-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

Over the past few days I've been trying to write a new post but every time I read it back to myself it sounds.... well depressing. The people in my last two blogs were extremely important to me but at the same time the writing's can come off depressing, but I'm not depressed. I guess it just has to do with everything that's been going on the past few weeks. Although it's been rough, there have been some very good parts lately as well. I'll get a good one out...

My Nanny

2010-04-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

In some ways, this is the easiest post I've written, but it is no doubt the hardest I've ever written. On Wednesday March 24th around 2am, my Nanny passed away. She had been sick and in the nursing home for a little over four years. She had been battling dementia during those years. It might have taken her mind, but it never took her spirit. As always, she was a fighter to the end.

But I won't remember her for just these last four years or so. I'll remember all the times that she stayed with us growing up. I'll remember the trips to visit her. I'll remember breaking away during the day to go have lunch with her. I'll remember sitting with her and watching our favorite past time, baseball. I'll remember family Christmases. I'll remember her loving us no matter how we acted and goofed off while with our cousins.

I'm not really sure there are enough kind words to say about my Nanny. I know I miss her so much and will never forget her. I will always remember the love and kindness she showed to others. She had and will continue to have a lasting impact on my life. She was truly a remarkable lady, but most of all she was my Nanny.

I'll Never Forget You

2010-03-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days in my life that I'll never forget. Not today to be exact but March 21 instead. Today marks 5 years since my cousin who was 2 years younger than me passed away. I remember that day just like it was yesterday. Shortly after 7am getting the phone from my Grandmother. Then my mom came and met me and we drove to my dad's office where we pulled him outside to tell him. After that I had to call my brother as well. It's one of those days and weeks that I never want to relive. But, this is life and you'll have those moments.

Matt and I were always close growing up. He was my only male cousin so I think that's one of the reasons we were so close. As we got older, no matter how long it was between when we talked, we always seemed to pick up where we left off. I still think about him all the time and miss him everyday. I loved that kid.

It was kinda ironic that we talked about over coming difficulties in Sunday school this am. Anything is possible with God. Prayer must be a staple in life as well as action to go along with those prayers. You just can't pray and do nothing expecting to over come difficulties in life. Fellowship and study must also be included as well.

It was a difficult time in my life dealing with his death as I am sure it was for the rest of the family. I miss Matt everyday and I am very thankful for the time I had with him and know I will see him again someday.

"I Believe In Me"

2010-03-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

The title to this post is from my favorite quote from Steve McQueen. Also, just to let you know, I am a huge Steve McQueen fan but in no way do I hold him up as a role model. The quote is:

"I believe in me. I'm a little screwed up but I'm beautiful." - Steve McQueen

When reading this, if you have questions about this post, just ask me. Now, on to the quote. I ran across this quote a few months ago. When I read it, I pretty much adopted it as my life motto. I think about this quote on a weekly basis. The reason I like this quote so much because I know that I am not perfect and will not be perfect. That reason might be why I do not believe in role models. I know I have imperfections, but at the end of the day as long as I please God first, I am good with that. I know that I can not please everyone in life. No matter what I do, I know someone will always question me about my actions or reasoning for doing something. If I tried to please everyone, I would end up getting pulled in so many directions that I would not know who I am. End the end, I believe in me and I'm beautiful in God's eyes.

My Response

2010-03-15T18:04:00.000-07:00

After posting my blog last night, I didn't think I'd get any questions. Well after I finished hooking up the boat so I can go fishing tomorrow, I took a look see, and found an e-mail waiting. The question? Why have I not been blogging and what made me start back. To be honest, that was not a question that I thought I would get. I was thinking someone might want to know some deep dark secret, or ask about the journey I've been on. So to answer your question Thomas, here goes:

Well I stopped writing in November. During that time I started prepping for finals, work became a little bit busier, and holiday season was upon us. Let's just say life got busy. So with everything going on, something had to take a back seat. Blogging was that thing.

Now, why did I start back? Well I missed it to be honest. I saw my friend Stephen talking about his blog on Twitter and it got me thinking. So Saturday night I opened my blog for the first time in months and read through some of my unposted writings. Then I looked at the activity on my blog and there was still traffic. So Sunday night I sat down and wrote "it's Your Turn" and thought that would be a nice return post. So, I'm back and I'll be coming up with some new content over the next few days and so on while I am on break from school. I have a few road trips this week so that will give me time to bang out some content as well. My goal was once 1 blog post a week. I'm going to stick to that. You are here to keep me in line. I hope you enjoy my thoughts and as always, feel free to add your input.

It's your turn

2010-03-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

Can't believe it has been so long since my last blog post. I look, and I have 7 prior un-posted blogs that I wrote but never had the guts I guess to post. Some still need some re-writing, while others I think I just wrote because I felt like I needed to get something down on paper. My blog has changed it's theme a few times. I had a nice mix of personal and business, to straight business, and then back to straight personal. I have been on a journey since October of 09'. I'm not the same person I was at the start of that month and to tell you the truth, I'm glad. I see I still get a good bit of activity coming to the blog which makes me happy. I feel like I banged out some pretty good stuff. Hopefully this thing will start rolling again. Ok, so now we are up to date on that.

Here is what I have for you. What do you want to know? You are reading this, so you must want to know something, right? I'm an open book. Ok, well that's a stretch. But serious, what do you want to know? Is there a topic I haven't covered, a random question, or just a thought? Either post a comment, send me an e-mail (PjThoughts@gmail.com), or call/text me a question(If you know my number). I'll respond.

Caught Up In The World of Now

2009-11-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

Well if you are friends with me on facebook, follow me on twitter, or linked with me on Linkedin, you might have asked the question like many others did this past week. Where is Patrick Finley? Well let me answer that question for you. I was here. No not here on-line but at work, school, church, and many other places just as I always am. I just wanted to take a break from social media.

When this this little break started I intended for it to be just for the weekend. Well the weekend turned into 3 days, 4 days, and so on leading up to a 9 day break. Then I had this great idea for a social media blog. Then yesterday my thoughts on how to approach this blog started to change.

See, I'm a laid back guy. My little twitter (I know, little twitter..haha) bio even says so, "laid back but on top of it." But here of late I've been struggling with something. I've got caught up in the "Now". Wanting things to happen now. Somethings I know I don't want to happen now, but for some reason I've pushed things. Why? Yesterday I really wasn't sure.

So, last night thinking about this I just decided to put my mind on other things. So I picked up my iPhone to catch up on some sermons from Francis Chan. There it was..."Slow Down and Show Grace" was the title to the next sermon. Here are a few of the points

1. Don't be quick to answer
2. Quick to speak, quick to anger
3. Take time to respond with love and grace
4. Slow down...the Lord has things in store for you

I think with all this social media and other conveniences in life, we have come to expect the "now" right now. Personally I tried to rush some things. Was social media the cause? No, personal insecurity and lack of faith was mainly the issue. So, I know I don't have to be quick to act on everything and waiting is ok. Sometimes it might even be a nice little present.

Refreshed

2009-10-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

At times it's easy for us to get pulled in so many directions, it's easy for us to get worn down. It's also easy for us to forget what is truly important as well. This past weekend as you may have read from my prior blog, I spent it with about 85-100 high school kids at a fall youth retreat with my church. If you think about it, it sounds like a lot of work and always keeping your eyes open since I was serving in a volunteer role. So naturally I would be tired today and dragging. However this is not the case.

Yesterday I tweeted that my batteries were run all the way down but yet I am refreshed. I'm not sure if it was the people I was with, the time spent worshiping, or just laying everything going on at Gods feet, or maybe it was everything above. However, I feel refreshed for the first time in a long while.

"What Inspires Me"

2009-10-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

I've thought about the question that Trey(@magnetsfast) posted on twitter the other night. He asked, "What inspires you?". I looked at the question and really thought about it. I know some will answer fame, money, and the other usual answers. Webster's definition of inspire is to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration. I think people can be inspired by a number of things, including: nature, great feats of work, and even love. Yes, I did say love. That word is not to often in my vocabulary but there it is.

As I look back over the past few years, I know what inspires me. It's people. Yes, people. I can look back as people have come and gone out of my life and see who pushed me, and I know the ones that also had a negative effect as well. Some may not even know they pushed me or are pushing me now. It just happens. I really don't know how to explain it. But that feeling of when someone inspires you is like none other. I've never done a good job at telling people who inspire they have done so. I'll start working on that. It may surprise you in who it is.

So now I ask you, what inspires you?

A Passing Fad?

2009-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

A passing fad

A good friend will not hide his feeling about technology. This includes social media as well as cell phones. This past weekend I spent it with about 85 high schoolers from my church on a weekend retreat. The first thing we did was geocache. Basically it's a high tech scavenger hunt.

Well when the councilors were told about the plan and that we were using iPhones to carry out this idea, my friend made the comment that the iPhone is a passing fad, just give it time. Well, guess what? It's not a passing fad. To be honest, it is just the forefront to what we will see. The ability to customize your phone will start to carry over into other makers. We are already seeing it with the mytouch, blackberries and many others.

My thoughts, it's awesome that we are getting to see all this technology unfold before our eyes. I know we have all seen technology unfold before our eyes but it's the personalization is what's so great about it.

It's All About....

2009-09-30T06:58:00.000-07:00

For the ones of you who only know me from reading my blog, I want to say that I am a big people watcher. I think this came from one of my favorite music videos, "Meant To Be" by Sammy Kershaw, as I was growing up. Everytime the video was on, I would watch it. Not really sure why, but I think about this video all the time as I people watch.

Anyway, this morning as I was stopped at a red light, I noticed a man walking with his son to school. However, the man was a good fifty feet in front of his son and smoking a cigarette. His son was struggling to keep up, and every now and then run for a few seconds then go back to walking. Now, I don't know the situation, or the relationship between the father and son so I'm not trying to judge.

What I gathered from this and thought about was, it's not all about us. I know we hear that all the time, but it's true. This can apply to business as well as our personal lives. Just a mid week thought...

By the way, here is a link to the video I was talking about. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzhe0uG6uiQ

The Merge Lane

2009-09-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's funny where you get your ideas to blog about. Today as I was driving about, a young lady, maybe a college student, in a BMW was in a merge lane. As she was approaching the end of the merge lane she came to a stop. Being in the lane she needed to get in, I slowed down to let her in. She just sat there. So, I just passed her and went on. That little moment led to this blog.

My thoughts as I drove on down the road was how we need to jump in. However we must do our research in order to succeed. Example, say this girl came to the end of the merge lane, never looked, and just pulled out in traffic. I bet most of the time she slams into someone causing a wreck, hurting herself or someone else in the matter. That would be a fail. Now, the proper way would be to keep going at a slower rate, looking around to see when traffic is clear, and merging in slowing then hitting the gas.

Now, where am I going with this. We can look at business the same way. We have to do our research in order to succeed. If we jump in feet first with no research, there is a good chance we are going to fail. However, if we study and do our research about what we are getting into, we are not guarantied to succeed, but our chances are much much better.

How Can You Forget?

2009-09-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Well, as we all know it, today is 9/11. From Facebook to Twitter, I've been reading where everyone was. I was sitting in a college computer class. The class was a 8am class so when it happened I remember a teacher walked in saying a "small" plane had hit the World Trade Center. At that time I tried to log on to any news site I could to figure out what was going on. Then I was able to get some news and it was not a small plane at all. My thoughts went straight toward Osama. I finished my work and headed home to watch all the news coverage.

During that day, my thoughts were scattered. I was thinking about the brave firefighters and police officers heading in to the buildings to help. My thoughts also were thrown back to my memories of my stay in New York in the winter of 1995. We stayed in the World Trade Center Marriott on a school trip. I remember at night running around the World Trade Center with my friends. I remember looking down from my room on the the plaza where that huge globe stood. It was an amazing place.

Now on to the thoughts about what has happened since. I must say, no matter where you stand, it's no coincidence that we have not been attacked on our soil since. From the polices and procedures put in place by our administration, they have worked and protected this country. The fact of the matter is, the terrorist and their group that attacked us then, still hate us now.

So, in remembering 9/11, say a prayer for the families who lost love ones. Say a prayer for the troops defending our freedoms still today. And say a prayer for the freedoms that God has provided us with and blessed us with.

Here is a link to my pictures from my trip to New York in 1995.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17079&id=502440221&l=bb39c4a7c3

You Want to Be A Blogger?

2009-08-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

First off, I really won't call what I do blogging. I have a post every two weeks or so and get a few people looking at my post. Second, if you are reading this thanks! But so often, I hear people saying they should start a blog. Usually somewhere in the conversation it comes up that I manage two blogs. If you didn't know I also manage a blog called "The Batters Eye". It's a blog devoted strictly to baseball.

So when talking to some people, they think you can put up a blog on blogger or wordpress and people will run across it and they will build some large following by hashing out their thoughts. Fact of the matter is, if you are not active in other blogs, your blog will struggle. Reason being, it's great to see what others write about. Some great blogs can come from a follow up off another blog. But, if you do this, make sure to credit the person.

Blogs can be fun but at the same time it's almost a job. Like I said before, you just can't throw a post up every so often and get a large following. I've got about 30 post up now and have 7 followers. I'm thankful for all my followers. It usually means I'm writing about something that is of interest to them. So, if you want to start a blog, don't get caught up with the numbers. Do what you can, when you can. Sometimes it's hard coming up with new topics and then sometimes they flow like a river. Just have fun and the rest will follow.

Some People Just Will Not Get It

2009-08-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well, this is not the blog post that I planned on doing. Thought about a marketing/advertising video post but it just did not turn out the way I planned. The video blogging will need a bit of tweeking and planning on my part. Anyways, this post came to me tonight as I spoke about social media to a friend of mine and other friend kind of shook his head as we talked about it.

I've always been interested in technology and always needed to have the latest and greatest thing if I could. So my thought is, if the technology is there, why not use it to further yourself or your company for that matter. As we spoke about SM, my friend that opposes it said "the world existed before all this you know." I'm aware it did just as you are. But what's the big deal about opposing it?

Here are a few thoughts. One, I think most people take certain things at face value. No education on there part. I'm not saying not educated as in schooling but educated in the product itself. Second, they feel the product has no value for them. Again, this could tie in with education. They have not done the research. There are so many more positives than negatives in SM as most of us know. And lastly, I think it's the personality as well. You know some people want to try out everything and some people don't.

You hear the saying all the time that schooling does not end when you step out of the classroom and I think social media teaches us that everyday. So what do you do to handle people like this? Let them vent, then tie the form of social media to something they like, or use often and see what their reaction is. So what did my friend who opposes SM do when I did this? He kept his opinion then put on his heart monitor and went for a run. Wait, did Roger Bannister have a heart monitor?

Business Relationships

2009-08-03T15:37:00.000-07:00

For a transcript of Wayne Lieu's interview with Trey Schaefer, please follow the link: http://http://www.wayneliew.com/trey-schaefer-magnets-fast-art-promotional-services-1/

Let's Talk

2009-07-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, let's sit down and have a little chat on this Monday afternoon. I've talked in blog entries in the past about marketing and networking, but today I want you to think about something. What do I want you to think about you may ask? Your Logo!

Think back to when you started your business. How much time, how much effort, and how much money did you spent on your logo? If you think about it, you probably spent a good amount of each of those either drawing up, looking over proposals, and thinking about how you want your business to be represented, correct?

So after you picked your logo out from the 20 or so drawings you did or proposals from an ad agency, you were pumped! You wanted everyone to see it. Let me take a guess that you e-mailed it out to everyone you know, added it into your signature, made sure it was at the top of your website and maybe even did something special on your website revealing your logo. You might have also printed up some flyers, did promo items so you could have your nice, shiny new logo on something to hand out, correct?

Ok, so now let's fast forward to right now. Where is your logo? Let me take a few guesses...outside your building, on your website, and your business cards more than likely. People pass by your location all the time but is it enough exposure, probably not. It's on your website, but are enough people finding your website? Unless your doing some sort of SEO, more than likely people are not finding your website enough. And last but not least, cards. What really happens to your cards once they leave your hands? Wouldn't you like to know.

So where else should your logo be displayed? Are you doing any promotions? Do your employees wear branded shirts or hats? Do your clients have t-shirts with your company name on them to wear during their casual time? Are you handing out client appreciation gifts? Business card magnets, schedule magnets, and calendar magnets? Are you staying in front of your clients or potential client base?

I'm not trying to preach to you, I've done the same mistakes and hopefully I've learned from them. All I'm trying to say is you have put a lot into your business including designing your logo, so be proud and let everyone you know how proud you are of your logo and your business. I bet it pays off in the long run!

Are You Engaging?

2009-07-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well it's almost been a month since my last blog entry. I know I'm slacking a bit but I have come up with a few blog ideas that I will work on over the month. What I want to write about to day is being engaging. A few months and post ago, I touched on being social. This could tie in very well to that post.

As I sit here and watch a baseball game on the 4th, I see an over head shot of the field and see three dead spots where the outfielders stand during the game. As I see this it reminds me of a word that I have been hearing a bit lately, engaging. This word applies pretty much every area of your life. Are you engaging?

So why this really means is are you approchable? When people see you, are you someone they want to talk to? How is your demeanor? Are you smiling? How do you carry yourself? Do you look interesting? Or are you a dead spot like those three patches of grass on the baseball field?

So over the next few, I'll see what areas I can work on to be more engaging and I urge you to as well. Like I said, this does not just apply in areas of business but also personal. I know I'm going to have fun working on being more engaging.

Loyal or Not?

2009-06-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

I really want to know what you think. Growing up my family always seems to visit the same establishment for a type of service. If it was related to boating it was one place, always. If it was a book store it was the same place, always. My family as always been loyal to a place of business where ever we lived.

When I started working and making money of my own I took these same values. I have a favorite Chinese resturant I always visit, Mr. Wangs in Homewood, Al. I met these guys when I was in fifth grade and have eated at their resturant ever since. I have serveral businesses like this that I always do business with.

My thought is, the only time you should ever change where you are doing business is if you are going to be able to save a good amount of money or there is a change in the service you are getting. Now in saying about the money, often times you get what you pay for so that is a little less in my book. For me Service is the key.

So, do you think there has been a change in the amout of loyalty shown to businesses over the past couple years or do you think this is an out dated way to do business?

What Do You Do?

2009-06-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

So today when I was e-mailing out our June special to our customers I got an interesting response from one of them. It said the following:

"We are unable to purchase advertising specialties at this time of corporate consolidation."

This is a company that is made up of over 250 independent contractors that strictly work for this company. They do have a marketing department to assist these contractors and have various other staff. So, that got me thinking this afternoon. More of less, this company depends on these independent contractors to do the marketing. Now, in saying that I do have inside knowledge in this company and know they do some institutional marketing as well. However, it is some what limited, mainly magazines and newspaper.....ahh newspaper, really?

Ok, so what I am getting at is where are they spending the money and why? I served for two years on a marketing committee for a company like this when I was in real estate. The committee was made up of all types young to old. The younger agents always fought for more spending related to the internet and other items, while older agents liked glossy magazines and newspaper. The younger agents won for a few months at the end of our terms then when we rotated off it went right back to older forms of marketing.

The issue is you have no way to track who sees your message. Internet you know who is seeing it and with promotional products you know who is seeing, and most importanly getting your brand and logo in their hand. You have ways you can follow up. Second, you are depending on contractors who might or might not be making the extra money to promote and market themsleves and the company. So when does the instution need to step in, promote the company more to give back to the contractors and build business?

Am I off base? Thoughts?

What if?

2009-05-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

As I'm sitting here watching the Yankee's(The Evil Empire) vs. the Phils, it reminds me of a story I read the other day. In the story that happened 10 years ago, Keith Olbermann was telling a story about how Vin Scully almost became the voice of the Yankee's in the mid 60's. Yes you read correctly, Vin Scully almost became the voice of the New York Yankee's. Think about that, Mr. Dodger would have been known now as Mr. Yankee! Well anyway, that's not the reason I'm writing this. The reason is a line that Keith used in the story. Here is the line:

"He excused himself to go back to preparing for his broadcast, and, as usual, made it seem like I had done him a great favor by introducing Michael to him."

Here is a man that is a legend in broadcasting, and acted like you did a favor for him by Keith introducing Michael to him. Michael Kay, who is now the voice of the Yankee's was still making his way at that time. What if everyone, no matter what their stature was like that?

Reflection Time

2009-05-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

You know when I started this blog I really had no format to which I was going to write. The first question I asked myself was "why am I writing a blog?" My answer...I like to be creative, somewhat. Well I do. I've come up with some inventions, one of which is sitting in my garage, the other still in my head. I think both of them are useful. However I must be honest with you, I have always hated writing, well until I had a teacher named Mr. Youngblood in college. He was my English professor and I think we had to write 10 essays during that semester and I thought crap I'm going to bomb this class. Well I ended up with an A and liked the way Mr. Youngblood taught his class I took him again for another English class. I received an A in that class as well. One day I'll e-mail him to take and tell me what he thinks.

Anyways, so then I went on to tell about how I arrived to this point in my life. I did leave out a lot of details but I'm sure at some point over my blogging time they will come out, or will they? That's the question that has been going through my mind here of late, "what is the format to my blog?"

I said I was going to write about pretty much anything. Here is an excerpt from my first blog:

What can you expect from my blog? Well I guess my interest for example: fishing, golf, wakeboarding, snowboarding(maybe if I get to go), Major League Baseball(Go Sox!!), business, and random events.

So, as I look to see what I have written about I see just a few, baseball once and business pretty much the whole other time. So if I start blogging about other events and different things going on in my life, will you keep reading? First off, I hope you do. Second, I hope you continue to comment and share with me your thoughts. I've had numerous people talk with me in person about my blog and I have to say it means a lot to hear your thoughts and feed back.

So going forward it's going to be a good mix. Also, my goal is one blog post a week. I think I can work with that. So as I am still a newbie to the blogging world, bear with me, enjoy the ride, and let's just have fun and maybe we'll learn some things together!

Was it worth it?

2009-05-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years there have been highlighted cases of people who have taken short cuts whether it be in their business, personal life, ministry, or else where. This opens up the possibilities of so many things when short cuts or even lies take place. Potentially you have the opportunity to destroy years and years of work.

I witnessed something first hand this past weekend. I had heard about some possible goings on but I was able to confirm it for myself over the weekend. When my suspicions were confirmed my thoughts went directly to what could possibly happen if everyone knew what was going on? So first off, any thing this person was saying had no direct effect on me. I knew they had taken the low road, passed something off as their own and pulled the wool over many eyes. And then secondly, I knew this person was a fraud.

So knowing what I knew, I wanted to know just a little bit more. Who else knew? So I found out. My findings were shocking. I found out that a person that is pretty high up you could say, knew about the issue at hand. His solution? Sweep it under the rug and hope no one ever finds out.

So what's at risk? In my eyes everything, absolutely everything. When you are in a very prominent position you have a responsibility. This man is a leader, well you are suppose to call him a leader. People have trusted you with that responsibility and all this person has done is take advantage of those people. If others are to find out it would discredit this man and pretty much anything he has said over the past 10 years while he has held this position.

So what we can learn from this? No matter what you think, a decision to lie or cut corners does not just hurt you, it affects many. It can make people question you and the role you serve. It can make one question his/her beliefs. Be honest, if you need help or are in trouble just ask for help. I know it sounds easy, but it's the truth.

Now I See..

2009-05-06T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well I was planning on doing this blog post on another topic, but after this past weekend I changed my direction and will now put it off until my next post. So, you might be thinking, why did I change my mind? Well, I learned something and grew up a little more this past weekend. No, not in physical height, but I guess you could say mentally.

I had the opportunity to attend a mens retreat through my church. In total there we close to 100 men that attended the retreat, including my father and Trey Schaefer(@magnetsfast). It was a great weekend I must say. I really had no expectations.

Tom Davis, President of Children's Hope Chest was our speaker. I had heard of Tom but I had never taken the time to read any of his books(Red Letter Men, Fields of the Fatherless, and Confessions of A Good Christian Guy), so I really did not know much about Tom. Over the weekend I learned who Tom is and Tom's passion. If you have not read it yet, you need to check out Trey's blog and this well also speak on Tom's passion. http://magnetsfast.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-is-your-passion.html

To check out Tom's foundation please check out www.5for50.com and also you can follow Tom on Twitter @cthomasdavis

So during the first night I was thinking, "what are we talking about?" Over the next 24 hours I would learn. I always thought that the AIDS epidemic in Africa was their problem. I learned that the problem is everyone's. There are demonic things going on over there and a lot of witch-doctors thinking that they can cure AIDS. The fact of the matter is, young kids are being taken advantage of and their way is not the correct way and there needs to be a generational change.

So, over the weekend it made me think a lot. Not just in ways that I may be able to help, but just my life in general. It made me think of things I need to change and things I need to do better to grow in Christ. So overall it was an amazing weekend and helped change my outlook on things and look at things deeper and not just scan over the top of things.

Mentors

2009-04-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

In life, I think it is very important to have mentors. Mentors can range from a former school teacher, close friend, family member, or business associate. In my life my father has been a positive role model in my life. My father has taken care of our family probably more than I even know, and plus his is a great man of Christ. As for other parts of my life I have two other gentlemen that I place that mentor tag on.

I think mentors play a important role in ones life. To me, a mentor is someone that one can bounce ideas off of, talk about important decisions that are taking place in ones life, and also get advice from someone who has life experience that can give perspective.

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure either one of these men know how much I value their input. These are both men that I trust and know their intentions when giving advice. They also share the same values as my father as in being family men and also men of Christ.

So you are more than likely asking who these men are by this point. Well one is Bryan Mizzell. Bryan has known me pretty much since the day I was born. Bryan was 13 or so when I was born, and his father and my father were on staff together at a church in Tuscaloosa. Bryan is a military guy who is now a pilot for UPS and lives in Tuscaloosa once again. I usually see Bryan every two or three months. Bryan has worked hard for everything he has but yet kept his family first. I feel that is very important no matter who you are.

The one thing that stands out about Bryan is how he gives. Not only does he give his time to sit down with me from time to time to catch up talk about things going on in my life but he loves opening up his house during the summer for people to visit his lake house. I think Bryan really gets joy in helping and teaching others one of his interest, water sports. I've never once heard him say "man I'm ready for these people to leave." Bryan is truly one of the most genuine people I know.

The other is Jeff Dance. Jeff, like Bryan and my father is also a family man and a man of Christ.I've only known Jeff for about two years. See, Jeff is my Sunday school teacher. Jeff really has a passion for teaching young professionals. I usually see Jeff at least once a week if not more. Jeff is just a great overall resource for me and I'm thankful for it. I really do value our friendship.

If you noticed they all share the same characteristics. To be honest, I think you have to have those characteristics. You have to have your values in place in order to be an influence in someone else's life.

So, how does this relate to business? Are you in a place where you can be an influence on someone? If you are, are you being a positive or negative influence? If you fell like you are being negative, think about ways to change that and become a positive influence, not just for them but for yourself as well. Be giving of your time and resources.

Where We Are Now

2009-04-19T17:34:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to go to a lunch Bible study on Thursday with my good friend Jeff Dance. During this Bible study, the question was asked, What is a program or service that is provide that you are glad that you pay taxes for? I really thought it was an interesting question. You could have easily ask the question what program do you wish your taxes didn't pay for. Well as we went around our table we had a few different answers. My answer was our military. That's a pretty logical answer for me. My brother was a Marine and he is now a police officer as well as my uncle and cousin. Jeff gave an answer relating to technology. That really got me thinking tonight.

As bad weather rolls through the state of Alabama, James Spann who is on ABC 33/40 updates through a blog, facebook, and twitter, as well as his coverage on TV and radio. It's amazing how many outlets we have to get our message out. What was it like in the turn of the century, meaning the 1900's and into the 50's? Also just think how far we have come in the last 10 years.

For instance, think about elections back in the early 1900's. How hard it was to get everyone together, get your message out, and even get votes reported or even find out who won. On a night of bad weather, how did people get news and find out about bad weather coming their way? Also, how did people market their new business, or tell about specials going on during a specific time. Think about going door to door trying to sell your service.

Radio was invented in 1885 and TV has been around since the late 1920's. But think about it, not a lot of people had these devices and I'm pretty sure people were skeptical as well. Now these devices are looked at almost as a second rate when it comes to receiving information. Most people now go to the Internet first, TV and radio second and news papers last.

Now think about it, you can watch TV shows on your computer, get information instantly from twitter, facebook, news sites, and etc....and you can also receive this information on your phone.

Something that is catching steam are specials on websites and social sites. Trey Schaefer(@magnetsfast) did a special a few days ago giving out free business card magnets on Twitter. Tony Hawk has given out skateboards by hiding them in locations and then tweeting clues to where they are.

So in closing, when your favorite show is not shown because of bad weather, be thankful that we have the technology to warn us to keep our families safe. The next time you are designing a new marketing campaign, think about what you would of had to do in 1900-1980's. Use all this technology to your advantage and get creative and reward those who take the time to check out your business.

Rush, Rush, Rush.....

2009-04-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years I have had the incredible opportunity to work with some great kids through our youth group at my church. I'm not sure if they know it or not but seeing the passion in these kids to serve God inspires me. When I have moments when I may feel down or tried they some how have a way to pick me up. But, over these two years I seem to always hear this phrase, "I can't wait to be out of high school!"

I know when I was in high school I always said the same thing. That's one of those things I think we all said. I think sometimes we get in the mentality where we want to rush things to get to the next part in the day, week, year, or just the next part in life. This morning as I was driving back from Tuscaloosa, Jeffrey Samplaski and I were talking about this subject.

Jeffrey and I were talking about as we get older, more and more stuff seem to get piled on our plates and less and less ever gets taken off. Now it's easy for us to tell these young people to enjoy this time, because you know there is always more positive than negative. The responsibility is less and you have more free time than you think. On that same point, you will never know as many people as you once did in high school.

So what's in it for us, meaning the ones out of high school? The ones that are in college or finishing, or those that have full time jobs with or with out families of their own. It means we need to enjoy today. It's easy to say that today since it is so beautiful outside, but I mean it. Take time for yourself. If you like reading, pick up a good book. If you like to puff on a good cigar, stop the your favorite cigar store and treat yourself, have a nice dinner with your family, or just sit out on your porch/deck and enjoy what God has given you today. What's given to us today is always not promised tomorrow.

Opening Week, Done!

2009-04-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

Well it's April 13th and opening week is done with. It has been a busy week in baseball. First off the major headline from last week was the passing of Nick Adenhart. I had just happened to watch some of that game against the A's on that Wednesday night. I watched him strike out Travis Buck and also get Eric Chavez to ground out. I remember thinking "man this kid looks young!" He was. I had a chance earlier to read the transcript from from the Dodgers game where Vin Scully:

If I may speak for every member of the Dodger organization, our heartfelt and deepest sympathies to the mother and family of Nick Adenhart, and to every member in the Angels organization, for the untimely accident and death of young Nick last night at the tender age of twenty-two. Nick, from Maryland, had pitched six scoreless innings and was in a car with three friends, and a driver apparently went through a red light and T-boned the car, killing three of the four, including Nick, and one other member is in critical condition. And if there is one thing I’ve learned in all my years — and I haven’t learned much — but the one thing I’ve learned: Don’t even waste your time trying to figure out life.

Ground ball through for Andre Ethier, and life continues for those who still have it. And with a leadoff single, Russell Martin will be coming up.

But I would say, it would’t be a bad idea to take a moment and say a prayer in memory for Nick, especially for his parents. What a shock to lose a twenty-two-year-old.

Andre Ethier at first base, Russell Martin the batter, James Loney on deck, and the Dodgers try to strike in the second inning against Kevin Correia. (From http://leitch.tumblr.com/)

I'm not sure it could be said any better.

As we get to baseball, it was a wacky week. Just look at the American League east for instance, Blue Jays are first, The O's are second, followed by New York, Tampa Bay, then Boston. Will this remain like this? I think not. The pitching from Boston will get cranked up and so to will the Yankee's. The big questions is the Ray's bullpen. Can it hold up? We will see.

Also you saw award winners like Dustin Pedroia, Cliff Lee, and Tim Lincecum all struggle. Then you see guys that have bounced around like Emilio Bonifacio light up opposing pitching. Dustin, Cliff, and Tim will bounce back and we'll also find new rising stars.

Then today, another dark day for baseball. I learned of Harry Kalas' passing a few hours before their game against the Nats. So sad to hear. What a great voice and pleasure to listen to. Then later in the day I learn about the passing of Mark "The Bird" Fidrych. Earlier this month I saw an interview with Mark on the MLB Netork and he just seemed like such a good guy. Oh yeah he had pretty good stuff as well.

So in ending, baseball has lost a rising superstar in Nick, a legend of the booth in Harry, and national sensation with great stuff in Mark. Baseball is better because of class acts like you gentlemen!

Am I Being Petty?

2009-04-07T15:21:00.000-07:00

Over the past year or so, it has become more important than ever to recognize the people who refer you. At Art Promotional and Magnetsfast.com I think we do a pretty good job of this, whether it's a thank you card or gift. Now, I'm not saying go out and buy extravagant gifts, but just something that says thank you for sending business my way.

The reason that made me think about this was a recent referral that I passed out. With-in the past 3 months, I sent two referrals to my car salesman. When I used him two years ago, he was very professional and operated on the timeline that I gave him. When it came to referring him I had no problem doing that.

Well it's been two months since he closed the second referral. To this day I have never received a phone call, thank you card, or e-mail. Look, I'm not wanting a gift, money, sporting tickets, or anything like that but I thought I would of at least have received a thank you card.

So the other day on twitter, I asked if people would send me what they did for people who sent them referrals. I received what I thought I would. Most said thank you cards, gift cards, sporting tickets and a few others mixed in as well. My good friend Kathy Mann sent me a very detailed e-mail about how she takes care of her clients that refer her out. Below I is her list:

Things to do for people who refer you.
1. Give referrals to them!
2. Send a handwritten thank-you note.
3. Call and say thank you.
4. Keep them updated on the business deal.
5. Introduce them to people you know.
6. Send gifts on holidays.
7. Invite them to play golf.
8. Do business with them.
9. Tell them how much you enjoyed working with the person they referred,
and what a pleasure it was to meet them.

I think Kathy hit the nail on the head. Now, she did say it does depend on the client which I agree 100% with. So, knowing your clients is a must as well.

My question to you, am I off base or being petty about not receiving anything from my car salesman for my two referrals?

What is this?

2009-03-24T14:26:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years social media has exploded. I'm not sure if exploded is even the word for it. I have a social media map and it has over 100 different sites. It's really amazing with what's going on in social media. The one problem I see with social media is some people have no idea what it is when they sign up. The biggest questions I hear is what is this, why am I on here, and how do I work this?

Trey Schaefer and I went bass fishing after a long week last Saturday. We talked about this subject as we drove down the road. The main thing is, for different businesses there are different uses for these sites. On Twitter we use it to make new contacts, and also develop new ideas. We use Facebook to stay connected with old friends, mostly. Jason Hill with Provenance Digital, described how a stock broker could use Twitter to mass communicate where his/her clients when there was market news. This could create a large volume of calls instantaneous. Now, he also did point out that would be some educating on how to use the service.

That's where I'm getting to, education. If you sign up for any of these many services, but never educate yourself, you are doing yourself and your business no good. I admit, when I first got on Twitter two months ago, I had no clue what it was nor what it did. I was updating just like Facebook, ie. "Patrick is going to get some ice cream." After educating myself and talk with Trey, we figured it out and got connected with great people.

The best thing you can do to find out more about all these services is read articles, ask people that have a understanding, and most importantly, get involved once you sign up. Just because someone tells you to get on a site does not mean you have to. First, consider the source. Second, ask them why you should get on this site. If they can not tell you why, then they don't know either. Education is the key.

Correction to Are you Social (part 2)

2009-03-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine who I spoke about in my blog "Are You Social Part 2" sent me a message after it was posted. He had conflicting ideas to mine. I stated that the word social means different things to different people as posted below from the previous blog:

"So I guess the meaning of social comes down to where you are in life and where others are in life."

I also said the following:

"...but his word social does not mean the same as my word social."

What I did here was assume. We all know what assuming does. What I should have done was go to him, told him what I was writing and get him to do a little piece on how he plans to network and find a job while he is in the process of graduating. I did not do this.

However, I did ask him if he would like to add to it or write something after the fact to add to the blog. So far nothing. The offer still stands.

I'm new to the world of blogging and do not mean to step on toes. Sorry it happened and will watch out for toes in the future.

Be Professional

2009-03-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

One thing I have noticed here of late are people that are in professional fields or they own their own business and they do not appear to be professional. The four that stand out to me are website, e-mail, business cards, and appearance.

So, let's dig into this. Let's start with your appearance. This means how you dress, how you talk, and I would even venture to say promptness. If you are going to an event make sure you dress the part. There are a ton of networking events out there from going to baseball games to black-tie events, just make sure you are dressing the part. Also, when you go to one of these events make sure to watch how much you drink. You do not want to be remembered as the guy too drunk walk. And last, be on time if not a little bit early. If you are going to be late, call. When you are going to a meeting and you are late, how will this reflect upon how you do business?

Second, e-mail addresses. If you have a business e-mail address, make sure it gives off a professional look. Do not get a gmail, hotmail, or yahoo account and put your business name @gmail.com. You can get hosting for e-mail accounts $14.95 a year at register.com, so why not spend a little money and give yourself and your business a professional looking e-mail address.

Next, business cards. When I get handed a business card that looks like it was cut by hand, it's going in the trash when I get home. I quoted out 1000 business cards last week for $45. That is pretty cheap. Also make sure it has all your info and not just a phone number.

And last is your website. I was forwarded an e-mail the other day from a client that had a competitors info at the end of the e-mail string. Then I noticed no web page. So I did a little research and wow, no website. In our business we carry thousands of products so you have to have a website. When I saw this I knew the "other company" was not a competitor to us anymore.

These are just a few things that I notice the most while out networking. I hope you don't fall into any of these categories but if you do you see how simple it is to give your self that professional look.

Referrals from Social Connections and Business Groups

2009-03-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

First off what is a referral? A referral is an introduction that involves three people. One person makes a call on your behalf to get you a personal introduction to someone. You may say, wait this is a lead. No a lead is where you just give me the contact info for someone and say use my name when you call them. To me and many others, a lead is one step above a cold call. So you may be asking yourself what is the purpose of talking about leads and referrals? Just keep reading.

First, if you are not part of a BNI networking group, please take the time to research what BNI is and go to a meeting to see what it is about. Art Promotional Services and Magnetsfast.com uses BNI as a tool to grow our business. I know that if Trey Schaefer did not think BNI was worth his time, he would not of been a part of BNI for five years and also stick me in one as well. Please look into it or feel free to e-mail and ask questions.

To tie this with my social blogs, once you have established these social connections by not standing in the corner or standing with group of friends that make you feel comfortable, get to know these connections. Take it one step further and get to know who they are, what they like to do, family background, and etc. Your social connections can be a very valuable resource.

Let me share how you do this. Put together a e-mail list of these contacts that you make. Make it a priority to e-mail these people every week or two to get introductions. It's easy for me to say I want to be introduced to marketing directors. This requires no time on my behalf. So when you put no time into anything, what is the typical result? Nothing. The key to it is being specific! Examples include, know the company which you are wanting to get in front of, know the position of the person you need to talk with, and know the NAME of who you need to talk with.

Here's my process that I use to figure out who I need to talk with.

1. Go to the company website. (most of the time, you will find out the information in the about or contact us section of the website.)
2. If the info is not there, Google the company plus the position that you are trying to reach. (Yes, there could be 1 million results but pick your words)
3. Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, If you are not using these as a search tool then you're missing out. Many ways to find connections that will get you the contact name from these sites.)

Once you have used these steps to ID the person you would like to speak with, e-mail your contact list to see if anyone knows Andy Evans,President, or Jason Hill,Senior Account Executive, at Provenance Digital for example. Once some one replies and says yes, ask them to make a call for you to see if they would be open to sitting down and meeting with you.

Example: Last week I e-mailed out to my BNI list and said, Does anyone know (name)(position)at (company)? I also include where this person went to college and year graduated to make a greater connection. With-in five minutes I had a reply, and with-in 24 hours I had a meeting set up with this person. Tell me this does not work!

If you have any questions or would like to add anything please do! I am always open to learning!

Are you Social (part 2)

2009-03-02T18:20:00.000-08:00

I wrote a post last week about being social. This past weekend someone threw one on me. A friend of mine(Daphne) was in town and a group of us got together on Saturday night. About 10:15 the group decided they would like to go out. Earlier in the night, my friend and I were sitting around playing ps3 just relaxing. He said something about going to see a band and I told him I had not been out in a while and not planning on it either. He said how long is a while? I said for the next year. In some ways I was kidding but in some ways I was not. I'm back in school, paying for it, and just looking to save a few bucks is my reasoning.

Well when he brought up the idea of going out later he said something about my comment. He said, so what are you not going to be social for a year? When he said that all I wanted to do was laugh. I thought by me not going to bar meant I was not social?

Thinking about it Saturday night and Sunday made me want to write this. I think out of all the people in that room Saturday night, I am the most social person in that room, hands down. So I guess the meaning of social comes down to where you are in life and where others are in life.

Going to a bar at almost midnight is not the place where I can make connections, business wise. That's just me, I know it happens, but how often does it happen? People in bars are there for a different reason, and most do not have anything to do with business on a Saturday night at 11pm or midnight. Or am I wrong?

Is social going to BNI meetings, chamber of commerce meetings, lunches, coffee and contacts, after hours, church outings, school meetings of different chapters(marketing, real estate, etc.)?

This guy is one of my good friends, but his word social does not mean the same as my word social. Yes, I am back in college but also work a full-time job that depend on relationships. I think our business at APS and Magnetsfast has to be relationship based. My friend on the other hand is a two semesters away from graduation and is not building business relationships, yet. I think over the next few months that word social will get a different meaning.

If you think I am off base let me know, leave a comment. I would love to know what you think!

Are you Social?

2009-02-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

Over the last few years, I have always used my cellphone as a way out. Now a days I do not do it as much. The only time I notice myself using my cellphone as a crutch is when I am the first one somewhere and don't want to look like a weirdo sitting in his car instead of a booth at a restaurant or going to a crowed event. So i guess what I am getting to is what are you doing to hinder making connections?

I know it is easy to go to the people you know at events. It makes it more comfortable, that's why you do it. So what does being more comfortable mean at a social event. It usually means your not meeting the people you want to meet.

I know you know this but the whole reason behind After Hours events, Chamber lunches, Coffee and Contacts is to meet people who want to meet....YOU! People are there to make connections, you never know who you might meet that will take your business to the next level.

It happens to me. I know that you have committed to going to an event but the day just drags on, and by the time of your event you just want to blend in have a few drinks, see your buddies and then go home. We need to suck it up. Business is business and now a days you need to be active and not being social is not a good idea.

For more networking tips go to: www.networkingbirmingham.com and go to Networking Tips.

The Housing Issue

2009-02-20T11:22:00.000-08:00

Wow what a last two days. Yesterday you had a rant from Rick Santelli about the housing stimulus. For me, I think Rick or The Great Santelli as I call him, spoke for a large portion of America. I think if you own a house or not, you do not want to help out someone that was irresponsible.

Now, today I heard Joe Biden’s economic advisor, Jared Bernstein, speak in regards to Mr. Santelli’s comments yesterday. Mr. Bernstein said that this bill is there to help out homeowners that are in a bind. He also said that these people they will be helped are not irresponsible. He said these people were caught out by the bursting of the house bubble. These people were caught out because the housing bubble burst and that these people lost equity in their homes and could not refi to a lower rate.

Ok, what? Rick Santelli came back with this point. What is the difference between you and I losing value in our 401k to someone losing value in their home?

As I am an Economics major, I know from economic point of view there’s not one. They are both classified as an investment, an INVESTMENT! People lose and make money in investments everyday.

Now, let me get back to the real estate bubble. I was a Realtor for 5 years. I saw deals where people barely qualified for homes. They look out 3 and 5 year ARM’s to get into these houses. Let me also state, that in my 5 years, not one of my clients ever did a 3 or 5 or 7 year ARM. The loan officers I worked with educated my clients. So for these that took out the ARM’s , I would like to ask them, what did you think was going to change in the next 3-5 years for you to be able to refi and be able to afford this house? I want you to tell me how they were responsible?

Quote from Ronald Reagan: Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

Please feel free to leave a comment

Interesting, deep dark secrets?

2009-02-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

On my first blog entry I wrote about who I am, how I’ve got to the point where I am now. A friend of mine wrote the following after she read my first blog:

P-diddy, you are so brave to enter into the dark depths of blogging. I can’t wait to see where this will lead. I would start one myself, but frankly, life here in BR is just not exciting enough yet to share. Hopefully this “blog” will teach me more about the deep secrets of PJF that I don’t already know. I think Episode 1 just skimmed the surface of “Who PJF Really Is.”
Love
daph

You know I read this not long after she left this comment. I started thinking that Daph knows me pretty well. There is not much that she does not know about me. I just think it is funny that she thinks that she will learn the deep secrets to who I am, because frankly, she already has a good idea. What might she learn? Will she learn that I am a Andy Griffith Show freak and hardly miss a show that I have seen a 100 times? No she knows. Will she learn that I love listening to Jack Johnson or Pearl Jam? No, cause I know she hates Jack Johnson (sorry Jack, I really don’t know why). Will she learn that I have a picture and football signed by Bobby Bowden? That one may be new to her. Will she learn that I have had 6 different vehicles? What about my cheesehead? So, let’s pose Daph a question, what do you think that you don’t know about me? Is there anything you have never asked me that you truly want to know?

Marketing and the Economy

2009-02-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

Today was a day of meetings and networking. First was BNI then Homewood Chamber, and to finish the day was the business to business power team for Birmingham's Best BNI group. No I'm not cocky, that is our name, Birmingham's Best.

Today my theme I guess you can say was not letting your flame burn out. Studies have shown that during a recession companies that continue to market gain market share. You hear people say that no one is spending money so why should I? Reason number one is: People are STILL spending money! The fact of the matter is they might not be spending the amount they used to but they are still spending money. Reason number two you want to market: To get the people spending money with YOU and not you competition down the street or around the corner.

Now when you say market I have to spend a couple thousand dollars, put a ad in the newspaper, put an ad in the local magazine right? No! Get creative. Think about ways to market yourself/company with out spending a ton of money. Talk to other local business owners to find out how their business is and what they are doing in a down economy. If you don't know other local business owners get involved in a local chamber or two to meet these people. Now look what you have just done, you did some marketing for hardly any money what so ever. Also look for small items that you can pass out that will not cost a lot of money. Magnets for example are a great way to market yourself. Look at the ROI of a magnet. Say you bought 1000 business card magnets and each one cost 0.24 cents each. That magnet will go on their fridge or filing cabinet and will be seen no less than 240 times in a year. The cost per impression on that magnets comes out to.........0.001 cents. Pretty amazing and you stay in front of the people.

Market share is gained in a down economy. You will have to spend money, but know where you are spending your money. Don't take the buckshot approach and scatter ads all around. Target your audience.

Feel free to add your thoughts!

So what does this guy named Patrick Finley like to do?

2009-02-16T20:42:00.001-08:00

If you read my first post(blog) it is my life story pretty much. I did not go into full detail about every twist and turn. If I did that people would not like me anymore and all I would do is go to class, work, and sleep. If you have not read my first post do it now then come back to this one.

Ok, now that you have read my first post you may be asking yourself what in the world does he do in his free time and so on. Well first off, I love being on the water, no matter if it is fishing, riding my sea-doo, kneeboarding, or wakeboarding it is my place to clear my head. Also I love to play golf. Most of my close friends play golf and what ever we do, somehow it revolves around golf. I usually shoot in the low to mid 90's. Getting back to the water, I started last year fishing in tournaments and did ok for my first year. It really showed me that I still have a lot to learn and no matter how good you are you can still zero out.

I am a conservative and it you don't like it I really don't care! I have chose to live my life a little different and think for myself. Things that piss me off..PETA, bailouts, stimulus packages, people that can't think for themselves, lazy asses that live off other people, liars, and cheaters. If you can't get it the right way then you don't need it. I think Bo Jackson might have said that.

I love helping out at my church. I love working with the youth group. The youth at my church have a unbelievable group and I hope they realize that. I also enjoy my Sunday school class The DYP(www.thedyp.org) and the wonderful people that I have met throught it.

Sports, love baseball. Will pretty much watch any game that is on. I am a huge Red Sox fan and I have paid attention to them since the Rocket was there in 86'. I would watch baseball over NFL or any other college game except FSU.

I hope that informed you a little bit more as to who I am, if not just let me know and I'll rant about something else, and o'yeah 48 days till opening day!

Who is Patrick Finley anyways?

2009-02-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

Why am I writing a blog? Well first, I like to be creative somewhat, and second I do have thoughts every now and then that I would like to share.

So, who am I? I am the son of a Baptist minister who after 32+ years of marriage is still married to my mother who plays the organ for my father on Sundays. I have wonderful parents and I do not thank them enough for what they have provided me with and the opportunities that they have sacrificed to give me things that have enriched my life. I have one brother that is married and they are in the process of adopting two wonderful kids that are brother and sister.

I have moved about 9 times during my life and all in the state of Alabama. I still have friends from just about everywhere I have lived. I graduated high school in 1998. When I graduated I really had no idea what I wanted to do so I took a few years off. During that time, I started a lawn care company with a close friend of mine. It was a small company but it gave us something to do. I liked lawn care somewhat so I thought about being a golf course superintendent. So I went to Auburn University in 2002 to pursue a degree in turfgrass management. After a year at Auburn I found out that I had thought wrong, and also not applied myself very well.

I came back to Birmingham in 2003 to pursue a career in real estate. Real estate had always interest me so I went to real estate school and became a Realtor. During my first month I sold my first house! During the real estate years there were ups and downs. I played around with many sides of real estate including commercial, residential mostly, and land development. At the end of 2007 I started to have doubts about continuing my real estate career. At the end of February 08' I had made up my mind it was time to get out. People asked me why, and it was not the economy that pushed me to this decision. See, from September 07 to April 08, I had a closing every month except March. I just did not care for real estate sales any more.

Also at the beginning of 2008 I started back to school at Jefferson State to get my feet wet again. I then approached close friend and owner of Art Promotional Services about a job. We talked about and he said sure. I thank him for that and I've learned a lot from him about marketing and advertising with promotional products as well as life. During the past year my sales have sucked to my standards. During the past year I have also held a 4.0 gpa and have transferred to Alabama. Business in the first quarter has picked up giving me more confidence as well. Also during this time Trey launched a website called magnetsfast.com which specializes in custom magnets like save the date, schedule, business card, and calendar magnets.

So what's in the cards for 09'? Keeping my grades up, selling magnets and promotional items, mixed in with a little bit of fun.

What can you expect from my blog? Well I guess my interest for example: fishing, golf, wakeboarding, snowboarding(maybe if I get to go), Major League Baseball(Go Sox!!), business, and random events.

So have I answered who I am?