I remember it well!

There I was a young and thriving stock broker. Going to New York for business and all that it had to offer in wining and dining.

I loved getting of he plane knowing that this was going to be another exciting experience I  would live with forever.

You cannot imagine the thrill of New York - if you have money to spend. I don’t mean extravagant. No, just enough to have a good time. Not worry about the price of a bottle of wine; how much to tip the matire d’; should I tip the entertainment.

Hell! Tip them all and well.

At the time I was dating a woman a little older then me. She had been married to a successful Wall Street Player and knew how to enjoy a good time - especially in New York.

We were going to the theater district and I had picked Barbetta’s  for lunch.

It was late fall and the air was crisp. Just cool enough to wear my Camel Hair coat that I loved, because it was the first expensive top coat I ever purchased. Still have it today. Still love it.  Sadly, I don’t have many occasions to wear it these days.

She was holding my arm firmly, tenderly as we entered the restaurant.

It had that old New York charm and sophistication. Maitre d’  greets us at the door, shows us to a table in the corner and departs.

We are looking at he appetizers when the waiter comes over and asks if we would “like to try some vintage mushrooms?

Here I am a kid from Chicago, self educated in the ways of the world. So sophisticated. So urbane. How could I resist. This is but another part of being sophisticated and urbane. I was loving it.

We ordered a bottle I Italian Red wine and waited for our Vintage Mushrooms.

Soon we saw our waiter walking regally toward our table balancing a plate on his three finger - as waiters are apt to do in fine dining establishments. Especially when the deliverer of something special.

Before he got to the table we could smell the mustiness of a cave in Italy. How exciting. We were about to experience something special. They were all we anticipated.

We ate these special mushrooms and another appetizer I don’t remember and finisher our bottle of wine.

We proceeded to have another bottle of wine with our entrees slowly eating and drinking.

Yes, it was extremely romantic. I was in love with her and intoxicated by her presence. She was so beautiful and in love with me. This was going to be a special trip to New York

One I would never forget. Cherish.

When the waiter brought over the desert cart it featured three items. Chocolate Mouse, Zabbione and a baked apple with brandy. Why not? We had one of each with espresso and Sambuca.

As we left she gave me a hug and kiss as she often did. Telling me she has a great time and thoroughly enjoyed my company. As I did hers.

We had dined on lunch for four pleasurable hours.

When we were on the street it was getting dark and the night air was chilling.

At the corner near Times Square I encountered a group of hari karisnas playing and asking for money.

What a surreal experience.

Food, Wine, Love and New York.

Just reading about the Weinstein Brothers purchasing Miramax from Disney.

They were rebuffed in this attempt when they left Disney a short time ago.

This is reminiscent of my divorce in 1976. The judge gave me visitation of one week end per month - to the delight of my soon to be ex-wife.

I vehemently complained to John Stetson, my attorney to object.

How could a loving father have any meaningful relationship with his children - one weekend per month.

I’ll never forget John’s  response. “Don’t worry. Within six months she’ll be asking you to take the kids every week end.”

How right he was. Within two years four of the five children were living with me.

My Uncle John was a scrappy little guy.

He had scoliosis but his personality overcame any adversity he might experience.

He sold paper for Empire paper company - top salesman.

I am certain he would easily fit into the case at Dunder Miflin.

I was on the track team in high school and thought I was good; until the day he challenged me to a race - and won. What a pleasant surprise.

One of his best stories is the time he was stuck in traffic and a truck drive behind him started beeping his horn. Uncle John calmly got out of his car, approached the driver high on his perch and said, “We know your horn works, do you want me to check your light now!”.

He was the accountant for the family; doing all his relatives IRS  tax returns. I can still see him sitting at the kitchen table working diligently to meet the April deadline.

Late in life he bought an upright piano and taught himself how to play. This was his retirement gift to himself. The piano sat in the dining room against the wall ready for his daily practice and playing. He actually became quite good over the years.

He is long gone, but often in my memories.

He was a great guy. One of my favorite uncles.

I can still picture him sitting at the kitchen table in my grand parents house.

He was in his late sixties, but still full of fun and wisdom.

My fondest memory is him taking me on a fishing trip in Ely, Minnesota. Bill Rum Canoe Country Outfitters. This was his gift to all the boys in the family when they became teenagers.

Little did I realize how important this trip would be to me later in life. It was the foundation of my appreciation of the great out doors.

He was great prankster. His best was late one night, after he concluded drinking at the local tavern, he came home took out the extension ladder and climbed up to the second floor kitchen window. My Aunt Marie was there washing the supper dishes. It was dark outside and his gnarly face in the window scared her half to death.

It was great fun to us, but not to her.

He would always make sure we saw the latest nature film at the neighborhood movie house.

He live a simple life. Worked, lived and loved life.

I never associate him with any unpleasantries. Just good fond memories.

“Business exists as a series of fantasies you make come true.”

Sometime ago (actually many years ago), I attended a weekend forum on entrepreneurial business development. The one key phrase that I have kept with me throughout my life is: “What you sincerely desire, vividly imagine and enthusiastically pursue will eventually come to pass.”

What a powerful statement.

Some mentors tell us you have to visualize what you want. Like a sports car - put up a picture of you dream car and work toward achieving it ownership.

Have you ever done this? Well, let me tell you it works.

The only caution is too set your goal on something reasonable or you’ll fail.

I once had a sale person who came onto our sales staff with no clients. She came from a job where her yearly income was a little over $35,000. Her first year selling she earned $80,000 plus.

The second year I noticed she was stressd at the job. Not her affable self.About the middle of February, I called her in for a meeting to try and help. My thinking was she had family issues to resolve, because her work performance was on target by my projections.

When we got down to her problem I was mildly surprised. And somewhat amused. She told me she was not achieving her self imposed goals for the year. She set her target on earning $150,000 for the year.

Wow, what a loft goal. My response was, “where in anyones wildest dreams would you think to go from $35K to $80K in one year then move onto $150K the following year?”

My “strong” suggestion was to be realistic. Set the benchmarks to achieve the goal in realistic stages. Maybe try going from $20K for the first quarter to maybe $25K or $30K. When you have achieved that them move the next target goal a little higher.

When she implemanted this approach her attitude changed and she was back to being a happy camper.

The end result was she di not reach the $150K original target, but was able to achieve $110K which was a very good jump from the previous year.

Moral: Set realistic goals.

As entrepreneurs we are constantly challenged on what to do stay productive - make money.

Unless you are onto a profitable venture that is consuming your creative juices and energy, you are under pressure to find the next “big thing” for you.

It’s a major problem we face from time to time.

The tendency is to latch onto something that is making you some money and start expanding it, with little thought to what happens when it is “successful”.

We have all done this from time to time. Putting enormous time and energy into a venture only to find out that the effort it takes is eating into your ability to devote to truyly high profit ventures.

An example it the benefit of an online businsess devoted to a tangible product as opposed to one devoted to an intangible product.

At the present time I have a very successful site selling custom T Shirts online.  We have instituted a marketing program that gets us substantial traffic and sales. The problem is the time it takes to deliver the product and keep the inventory going.

At the same time I have a site devoted to obtaining leads for attorneys. I have neglected developing the true potential of this site devoting time to making the T Shirt site successful. The short term money drove me to keep improving sales.

The result is now we are spending time managing this business.

Had we devoted the time to developing the lead generation, our circumstances would be reversed.

You can see the resultant problem. We were caught up in a Downward Spiral of success.

Had the time investment been reversed, we’d be in the catbird seat.

Income from a site need little hands on employment and picking the more profitable jobs from the Custom T Shirt site.

We’re in  the process of fixing this presently. It’s so stressful when you have to devote time to producing a product, becuse the money is not part of you income stream, and devoting time to building a truly passive income stream.

If you want to succeed in business you have to have and maintain a “presence”.

You have to apply and continually use the age old adage, “First impressions are lasting”.

Therefore, this might sound elementary and I’m slightly embarrassed to say it, but too many people today just don’t get it.

You have to decide what your peers are doing to get ahead.

One of the most important factors in maintaining a presence is to dress for the occasion. Get yourself a style that sets you apart from the pack. This isn’t an easy task. Too many times you are “set apart” because you look odd.

You want to blend in, but stand out. Sounds contradictory?

Think of this. You dress like your peers - blend in. At the same time you go to the next level. Shined shoes, pressed pants and shirt. Relive it or not. So many people today don’t get it or even are aware of these little elements that make you stand out —- correctly.

What is entrepreneurship?

Wikipedia says: Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting new  organizations or revitalizing mature organizations, particularly new businesses generally in response to identified opportunities. Entrepreneurship is often a difficult undertaking, as a vast majority of new businesses fail.

Dictionary.com says: to act as an entrepreneur. Organizing and managing any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

So, are you or do you want to be an entrepreneur?

It’s easy.

• Come up with an “original” idea.
• Do some market analysis
• Develop a plan of action
• Come up with a “catchy” name
• Get up your courage
• Plunge into business

This might sound like a daunting task, but it isn’t. And don’t forget failure is good.

I don’t mean to say, if your whole business idea implodes, it’s good. Small failures while you are developing your business are good. It means that you are taking risk, you are exploring the unknow. Moving your idea forward.

Even if you business idea does come crashing down. Take some time to reflect on what you did wrong. Where you made your biggest mistake(s).

Determine not to make those again.

It might have been that you were underfinanced. This is the greatest reason for failure. But you did not anticipate this - next time it’ll be differnet. Just make sure you remember.

What I have kept in mind my whole life is: “There are no failures on the road to success, merely set backs”.

So keep trucking.