Allie Potts's Blog, page 34

I am being buried alive! But at least the view is nice.

In the back of my mind I knew this day was coming, and yet it is one thing to be mentally prepared for it, and quite another thing to experience it first hand. We awoke the other day to a world made nearly inhabitable. A blanket of near fluorescentyellow-greendust coveredevery surface and more powder circulated through the air made so thick you could chew it. Our eyes burned and breathingwithout breaking into coughing spasmsbecame a conscious struggle. Survival would depend on how diligently...

Be accountable. Be a champion.

Demotivator : Fired (Photo credit: muffytyrone)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve recently had to become re-acquainted with housekeeping. Luckily, my eldest son is at a magical age. He is just old enough to be trusted with chores, and just young enough to feel a sense of reward based on mom and dad’s praise alone rather than requiringthe monetary variety.

One night, not too long ago, he offered to wipe down all our kitchen surfaces. We have a glass table and it shows ever smear and ketchu...

You have to dance like nobody’s watching

Dance like nobody’s watching (Photo credit: fmgbain)

Have you had the pleasure of watching the Lego Movie, or heard the What Does The Fox Say song yet? No? Well if you ever found yourself near my house on a Friday night you would hear song, Everything is Awesome and the aforementioned song blasting on our speakers over and over again as my boys engaged in what has become our “beginning of the weekend dance party!”

Dance Floor (Photo credit: enric archivell)

My eldest son’s dancing consists ofjum...

Separating Business from Hobby

Hirst’s Shark Tank by the Little Artists (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What separates a business from a hobby? My husband and I watch a fair bit of the show, Shark Tank, and often one of the investors will explain the difference to wannabe entrepreneurs. It is one thing to have an idea, and I am in no way diminishing the importance of that crucial element, but there is more to building a business than just having something to sell.

In order to transform a hobby into a business yes, you need a produ...

Help Wanted – Embracing Outsourcing

Good Housekeeping is one of several periodicals related to homemaking. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve recently suffered aterrible loss. My part-timehousekeeper hasfoundabetter opportunityelsewhere.While this is great news for her (and I wish her all the best), it isawful news for me. I am going to have to somehow figure out how toinsert deep cleaning backinto my already full schedule. Cue the nervous tics.

She wasn’t coming by weekly,and I have nevercompletelyabdicatedmy responsibility inkeepin...

What is your personal mission statement?

Recently I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by fellow author,Megan Cyrulewski on her blog. She asked me during the interview what I hoped that peoplewould feel while reading my novel, An Uncertain Faith. I have to admit that I did not have a ready answer for this question, at least not one that I could answersuccinctly.

Iactually did have a goal in mind when writing, an intended call to action, butto explainproperly, I was afraid I mightinadvertently give away the ending. The whole book...

Leadership and Management – is it so easy a caveman could do it?

My kids recently discovered the movie, the Croods, which isabout a family of cavemen who have to leave the safety of their cave due to a series of earthquakes and other eruptions. Mid way through the father, quite bewildered by his family’s behavior, tells his daughter, I kept you safe. To which his daughter replied, we weren’t living, we just weren’t dying, there is a difference.

The Croods8(Photo credit: TheCroodsGame)

It is very easy to confuse leadership with management. In the case above,...

Caution – Don’t feed the bears or the doubters!

English: Do not feed the bears An unusual warning for Southern Scotland. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A woman I had worked with formore than ten yearsrecently left my company after being offered a position with a great deal more responsibility and fancy new title. She was excited to advance her career but was incredibly nervous. The company she was going to had picked her for the position after only a few brief meetings and some words on her resume. What would happen if she got there and they all...

Spring is arriving and for every thing there is a season

Just like the seasons, people have the ability to change (Photo credit: symphony of love)

Earlier this week I was invited to participate in one of my area’s working mom’s luncheons coordinated through the city’s Chamber of Commerce. I love these functions because everyone there is not only trying to expand their network for business purposes, but are genuinely interested in swapping tips for how best to achieve work life balance.

After a bit of pure socialization the more formal portion of the...

What would you do differently if you knew others were watching?

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My husband didn’t jump into entrepreneurship overnight. No, like an illness, the bug went through an incubation period prior to maturing to the point of full outbreak. During this period, he started taking classes on how to better understand the nuances of the stock market. How to recognize the patterns in price that might indicate a trading event, how tointerpret industry jargon, andhow to take control ofour own portfolio.

Learning (Photo credit: CollegeDegrees360)

He drug me along toa few of...