by theEmother | Mar 22, 2010 | business ideas & thinking, MEinc, so you think you're in business
A Better, Easier Way To Succeed In Business for ChangeThis.com
by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
In the real world, you canʼt have over a dozen employees spread out across eight different cities over two continents. In the real world, you canʼt attract millions of customers without any salespeople or advertising. In the real world, you canʼt reveal your formula for success to the rest of the world. But weʼve done all those things and prospered. The real world isn’t a place, itʼs an excuse. Itʼs a justification for not trying. It has nothing to do with you.
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Indeed, well worth making the cuppa, and sitting down for a read…
by theEmother | Mar 22, 2010 | MEinc
Now, this what I’m talking about…
For me, it was my first trip to Africa, and then becoming a Mother.
And for you?
Wrecked for the Ordinary: A Manifesto for Misfits
By Jeff Goins for ChangeThis.com
Something is missing. Something important. Something necessary to making a difference in the world. And most are afraid to find out what it is.
This is a manifesto about the discovery process of finding what’s missing. It’s not as glamorous as a get-rich-quick scheme or as mystical as New Age spirituality. It doesn’t shine with the veneer of a car salesmen’s suit or catch your eye like a pretty girl. No, it more likely grabs your attention like a week-old bag of garbage sitting in the corner or piques your interest like nails on a chalkboard. Yes, it’s hard, but it can’t be denied.
In each of our stories, there is a moment when all of our priorities, all of our concerns, are shifted. Our identity begins to change with it. We sense a disparity between what is and what should be. There is a nagging feeling in our souls that something’s been wrong with the world for a while, and when this Moment happens, the feeling is no longer bearable. You no longer “fit” into the old world. You’ve seen too much, heard too many things, and you can’t go back to ordinary living.
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by theEmother | Mar 18, 2010 | entrepreneur trends (past & present!), entrepreneurial mothers, MEinc
This is a great little piece from Deborah Gough for The Age
GIULIA Baggio’s mad mornings are a familiar tale of hustling children from bed, dropping them to kinder and school, hurried goodbyes, then a race to work through rat runs to avoid traffic, only to be funneled, bumper-to-bumper, onto the main routes into the city.
When she sits down to a plate of cereal at her desk to ”start” her day at 9.30 am it is almost a relief…
…People who considered themselves time poor were 6 per cent less satisfied with life than those who did not define themselves that way, the research found.
Of those who said they were unhappy, 46 per cent said ”time” was a factor and problems with public transport’s cost (34 per cent), regularity (43) and availability (44) were also factors…
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by theEmother | Mar 11, 2010 | adventures with daughter, entrepreneurial mothers, MEinc
A thought provoking gem from Emma Alberici…
this is only a snippet so be sure to read on
…Contrary to popular opinion, when a mother works she does have it all … all the burdens of home that is. This includes the burden of guilt about the lack of time she has to devote to her children. This is made worse by the constant research papers that must surely be designed to exacerbate that guilt. Recently there have been a spate of studies showing that the children of working mothers are overweight, unhealthy, unhappy, watch too much television etc. Where are the fathers in all this?…
…Many women are enablers. Equality must start at home if it’s to be achieved in the workplace. If men aren’t demanding flexibility at the office, the women who work alongside them won’t get it either and it shouldn’t then be a surprise that women will continue to feel frustrated by a society that expects so much of them and so much less of their spouse…continue
by theEmother | Mar 5, 2010 | MEinc
I’m not sure where this actually came from, but it speaks for itself really…
An Obituary printed in the London Times* – Interesting and sadly rather true.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
– Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
– Why the early bird gets the worm;
– Life isn’t always fair;
– Maybe it was my fault;
– The laws might actually be there for a reason.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
by theEmother | Mar 1, 2010 | entrepreneurial mothers, inspiring women, MEinc
why we love our mothers (thank you Denise den-Bakker)…
Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, ‘I’m tired, and it’s getting late. I think I’ll go to bed’.
She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day’s lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning. She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button. She picked up the game pieces left on the table, and put the phone back on the charger. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.
She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk, wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.
She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.
Mom then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails…
Dad called out, ‘I thought you were going to bed…’
‘I’m on my way,’ she said.
She put some water into the dog’s dish then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.
She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV’s, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.
In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.
About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. ‘I’m going to bed’
And he did. without another thought.
Anything extraordinary here? Wonder why women live longer…?
Cause we are made for the long haul….(we can’t die to soon anyway, we still have things to do!)
To all the mothers reading, I salute you!
