Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

"It is in surviving defeat that our true character grows and develops!" - Marvin                    

Business leaders, recall the times that you "fumbled" in your execution, not last year, but possibly JUST THIS WEEK.

It happens to everyone.  We make commitments and fail to deliver on them. We may have promised to get a project done and were not able to complete it on time.  

Perhaps you got a very hard earned referral and then somehow fear and excuses took over and you never followed up. 

If you failed to execute you need to own it and learn from it.  

How can you learn from it?  How about realizing the timing around your failed executions?  

Start now for 2012.  January, is half over and many people have not set goals for this year. Many of us are very quick to blame others and extremely slow to take ownership for our own shortcomings.  

Here is something to ponder, in the wake of Monday's LSU loss many people are disappointed, some even are saying the season ended poorly.  When you look at the numbers 13 out of 14 games were won, 92.8% of the season was done RIGHT.  What percentage of your YEAR did you get right?  I am willing to bet it wasn't 92.8%! 

If you are not working on yourself, then you are working on the WRONG PROJECT.  

If your group need to be inspired, if you need private coaching or perhaps your sales team need to upgrade their skills.  It is time to contact our team.  

My goal is to help you get it right 92.8% of the time! 

Peace, Love and Gumbo! 

Marvin LeBlanc LUTCF, CNP

Are there days in your life that happened many years ago that you can vividly still recall? You can feel the wind, the warmth of the day, the smells, the colors. You can remember what clothes you had on. You can remember who was with you.

Well, our most memorable days are usually our most emotional ones. During those days, we were challenged or provoked, positively or negatively.

And so it was on that March day in 1992 that I was experiencing one of "those days" on the golf course. It was a Friday and I was hopeful that I would have a quality round of golf before heading in for a nice meal around 6pm and then relax for the night. But it just wasn't to be.

For you see on that day I was experiencing the repetitive misfortune of hitting my golf ball either in fairway sand bunkers or green side bunkers. As I recall, on the 18 holes I played that day (if you wanna call it that), I "succeeded" in landing in 16 bunkers. Well you would think that's what really got me riled up. Oh no! Not so. What really got me riled up is that I LACKED THE SKILL to get out of those sand bunkers.

So there I was. For 4 and half hours, seemingly living in the sandpit of hell. I was miserable. I was embarrassed. It was humid, i was hot. I was full of gritty sand, seemingly lodged in undiscovered body crevaces. I lost every bet to every person I was playing against that day. And by the 18th hole, after paying off all my losses and not taking it out on my playing partners, I walked to the corner of the driving range where the practice bunker awaited the arrival of my sorry ass. Beleagured and beaten. The sand had won.

Folks, it was there that I "lost it". Yep I "boiled over", got "pissed off" or as we say down in South Louisiana, I caught the "red ass".

I proceeded to have a nice long, enthusiastic talk with myself and decided in that fury of self dialogue that I was not going home until I learned how to hit a shot out of the sand bunker.
So I called my wife and told her my plan. "I am dropping 500 golf balls into the practice sand bunker and I'm gonna hit every darn one of them". It was a short conversation as you might expect.

So I rounded up 500 balls and began to: PRACTICE!

LESSON: Are you mature enough to accept the fact that there are AREAS that you LACK SKILL? Many people get stuck on stupid in this key stage. Why? Because they live in a state on constant DENIAL. I had to be honest with myself and admit that I HAVE A PROBLEM AND THAT YOU CAN'T FIX IT FOR ME.

I headed into the sand bunker with hundreds of balls and started practicing. Early on, I m not gonna lie to you. I was 8 still working to get the anger and frustration out of my being. Balls went everywhere. Then a small discovery was made. Swing harder and swing THROUGH the sand, not AT the sand.

My backswing in the sand became more relaxed. The next 200-300 balls were still not landing with any reasonable pattern or control, but the balls were successfully leaving the sand.
Sidenote: Leaders are sometimes way too impatient because they are expecting immediate complete results.

The practice bunker taught me to EMBRACE SMALL INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS because they always precede the BIG RESULT you ultimately are seeking. 

I seem to recall taking a break and grabbing a swig of water after pounding at about 300 balls. The transformation of my bunker skills had begun. Right now, I can remember re-entering that bunker with a sense of calmness that I had never had before. I had FACED MY FEAR head on and it was working. But not without MASSIVE ACTION.  (Did you catch that last line. Go back and read it again. Slowly.)
During the last leg of hitting the final 200 balls, I began to fine tune the more intricate details of bunker play. Things like "feeling" the back swing and "visualizing" what type of swing is needed to propel the ball into the air at the right distance. Other things like hitting out of a thin bunker lie (a bunker shot has very little sand at the base of the ball) or a fluffy lie (- bunker shot that has far too much sand all around it making the shot very unpredictable upon its exit.) 

So here's what happened. After crawling out that practice bunker, 500 balls later I was exhausted - spent. I was also happy, fulfilled and excited about "tomorrow on the course". 

My time would come that I would master bunker play in the heat of competitive rounds, but it would have to be delayed.
Because you see, while in my "trance-like" practice, I created blisters and both hands were bleeding and beginning to swell.

LESSON: Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can truly realize your potential.

LESSON: Far better it is to spend time in recuperation knowing that it was time well spent in the attainment of better skills.

So here's our lessons to reflect on.
LESSON #1: Are you mature enough to accept the fact that there are AREAS that you LACK SKILL?

LESSON #2: Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can truly realize your potential.

LESSON #3: Far better it is to spend time in recuperation knowing that it was time well spent in the attainment of better skills.

Develop the Ability to recognize that you lack a certain Skill(s)

• Embrace your issues of Denial

• PRACTICE!

• If YOU have a problem then it is YOUR Problem to FIX!

• Embrace Small incremental improvements.

• Face your Fear then conquer it with Massive Action

• Sometimes you have to push yourself to the brink before you can realize your true potential

• Far better it is to spend time in recuperation, knowing that it was time well spent in the pursuit of better skills or a worthy goal.

Use this article in an "alone" session. And yes, you should have a meditative "alone" session at least once a week. No kids, no spouse, no distractions, no phones, no co-worker, usually inspired by or in nature.

Find your quiet place and set an appointment to re-find that place at regular intervals. The process will invigorate you in ways beyond your imagination. Try it and drop me a line about your experience at Marvin@MarvinLeBlanc

As you’re running your business on a day-to-day basis (yes including all the dirty work, meetings, client calls, hassles, heartaches and headaches)… do you ever stop and wonder if there’s an easier way?

Does the thought occur to you – as it has to me oh so many times – that this whole work and business thing should simply NOT be this hard.

Finally, has it occurred to you to ask the key question, “How can I make it easier on my team – my customers – and myself?”

Animals can teach humans so much if we simply observe. Take a flock of geese for example. 

The small business smarts of geese:

1. They fly in a V-Shape formation for a reason. It reduces wind resistance by 67%.
2. They all honk for the leader but they are always changing out the leader so that the leader can rest & they honk just as loudly for the next leader in line.3. When one of the geese gets shot down, another goose will stay with him until he dies or until he is able to fly and rejoin the group.

Ponder these questions about the small business leadership lessons of geese:

1. In our workplace, do we work to reduce resistance within our team and “fly in formation” -- or do we create unnecessary resistance with our colleagues and customers?
2. Are you a “honker” – an encourager, team advocate and a builder of people?
3. Are you taking steps to ensure everyone on your team is ready to excel in leadership roles as needed?
4. When one of your team members is having a bad day or is “shot down,” do you help them until they can “fly again”?

If you’re not 100% sure of some of your answers to these questions, let’s have a virtual cup of coffee or bowl of gumbo and talk about how you and your team can lead smarter, sell more effectively, and have a lot more fun in business.

Much has been written about the power of tapping into your personal passion in business and in life. Whether the message is around small business leadership or small business sales, as a professional speaker on both those areas of expertise, I have a surprise for you - passion is overrated. And we're often passionate about the wrong things at the wrong time.

In essence, what I'm talking about is a Passion Trap - and you may find yourself stuck in it more often than even YOU might realize.

Now here's another curve ball in exploring the passion trap, marvelous people - As you mature and develop, your passions change. What you FELT was so important in your 20's is no longer that central to you in your 30's. You can do the math for your 40's, 50's and 60's too. And passions don't only change over the decades - they can change over a matter of years, months, or even weeks.

Remember to be patient with yourself when your passions & interests change.

You are an ever evolving being, so it is only natural that your passions & interests will evolve – as you do so, many people will find fault with your ideas, your plans, and the chosen “movement” you've decided to start. Maybe it's a movement to make the world better, safer, cleaner, healthier, better managed, more innovative... there are as many "movements" as there are small business owners, professionals, and corporate leaders to lead them. You start thinking and talking too big - and yes, my friends, there will always be someone (usually more than you expect) ready to shoot you down or label you as a "dreamer" or a "rebel" or a "nut."

Why? Because your movement affects their social or financial well-being, because they may be more fearful of change, because they'll lose something in their relationship with you because of your transition.

Your personality may see this change as exciting and it might make you feel alive with new perspectives and experiences. Their personalities might view you as a fool or as a risk-taker. "Why would you change careers when you already know how to do well in this one? Why would you innovate a new sales process when we've always done it this way? Why would you invest in becoming a talent-driven organization when we're hurting for money as a company right now?"

Here's my final tip about harnessing the power of passion: People really don't care how passionate you are about your products, your services, your job, your company, or your career. You know what beats that out by a mile? Tapping into what THEY are passionate about. If you can deliver on the value where those two passions meet, look out - marvelous results are in your very near future!

Entrepreneurship is not child’s play. You will need a business mind with an eye for finesse and acumen to avoid all the pitfalls of managing a business venture on your own. Following is a list of guidelines that should be in every entrepreneur’s arsenal in order to be successful. Without engaging in these guidelines, insufficient foresight can flush all your hard work and efforts down the drain.

• The first and perhaps the most important thing that every entrepreneur should bear in mind is that regardless of what you do you will end up needing twice the amount of capital that you have projected for your business. Perhaps this is due to the fact that your budget forecasts might have had a shortfall because you had failed to see a few costs or had just omitted them as not applicable to your concern. However, be ready with extra cash to support any financing needs that may arise.

• Relentless passion for your work is a prerequisite to a successful entrepreneurial venture. No matter how passionate you are about your work or how ardently you undertake each and every project, trust me it won’t be enough at the end of the day. You will always end up with the realization that had you put in more hard work, things would have worked out just right. The one thing that can assure your success is authentic,sincere zeal for perseverance.

• Human capital is that asset, which has the power to make or break your business. Therefore, you should put your utmost effort and time in cultivating the 100 best customers in your company, as those are the people that pave the path to success. Catering to your human resources will bring in better business results than any promotional activity can.

• Most importantly, as an entrepreneur you need to digest the fact that your business venture will be the toughest thing that you would have had undertaken in your whole life. You will be drained out of energy and resources, and will be constantly running to make sure that everything is going on in a smooth flow. Remember, your relationships will be under a lot of strain as most of the time you will be busy with the business management. Your family relations will be extremely strained. Weak supporters will opt out of your life.

• Lastly, if you have the perception that like everybody else you can wrap up work and go home at 5 pm then you will be better off staying as an employee for someone else. Keep a job rather than running a business. To achieve greatness and sustainability in entrepreneurship you will have to put in all that you have and more.

Hello beautiful people. Let’s discuss today’s topic, which is “Lessons from Edison.” I get a little bit annoyed when people tell me, “Marvin, you’re working too hard” or “Marvin, you’re a workaholic.” Usually that advice is coming from someone who is currently employed by someone else on someone else’s payroll. In my mind I usually classify these people as non-dreamers, they are probably going nowhere extremely fast.

When faced with these types of comments the best thing to do initially is to consider the source. Are their comments and advice even worth listening to? I do think it is important to address the issue of “being a workaholic.”

Consider for a moment Thomas Edison. He lived to be 84 years old. As you know, Thomas Edison was was a great inventor. Did you know he was also a successful salesman and frequently worked more than 40 hours straight? Notice how long Edison lived. The reason he probably lived that long is because he worked instead of resting. The whole concept behind resting is overrated. Don’t buy into the myth that work kills, it just isn’t true.

Resting is overrated. I can prove it to you. When you get home, lay down flat for five straight days. On the sixth day you will need to be admitted to a hospital for all of the newly created illnesses and ailments you have. Even though you rested five days in a row, you are not doing your body any good.

What kills a person is unfulfilled work. What kills a person is uninspired work. In my opinion, nothing kills faster than indecision, laziness, mediocrity and the attitude of entitlement. If you spend a lot of time focusing on yourself and not focusing in on the benefit that you can share and be significant in other people’s lives, you will be unfulfilled.

If you spend too much time on yourself, you may find yourself getting lazy. Don’t fall for it, stay away from being mediocre. Stay away from the attitudes of entitlement. The things that matter for you most, are the things that you have to struggle for. Remember the “Lesson of Edison.” Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits. Forget Success, Focus on Significance.

Peace, Love and Gumbo!
Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

An Excerpt from Every Day is a Gift
by Barry Gottlieb

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be
happy, practice compassion."
-The Dalai Lama

What does "True Abundance" mean to you?

According to Wikipedia, the definition of abundance is "the opposite of scarcity." I believe true abundance is not measured by what you have; rather, it is measured by what you give.

In our culture, it seems that most people are caught up in their "need for greed." Perhaps this is why so many people struggle to find their happiness, and why over 25% of the people in our country suffer from anxiety. We live in a culture where we are taught to judge a person based on what they have, rather than on who they are and what they contribute to society.

I was very fortunate to have met a professor that changed my whole way of thinking. I was one of those people with a, "What's in it for me" attitude when I started his class. By the end of the semester though, my philosophy and my attitude had changed. Forever! This is what I learned:

"You can have anything you want in life, if you will just help enough other people get what they want." -Zig Ziglar

I challenge you to focus on this philosophy for an entire month! Here are some action steps that will help you stay focused on this incredible gift:

ACTION STEPS

Gratitude. Every night before you go to sleep, recite aloud at least ten things for which you are grateful.

Forgive. Let go of the past. Forgive those who have hurt or angered you. Stop carrying this poison around with you every day.

Love. Be sure to tell those people in your life who mean so much to you that you love them and appreciate them.

Donate. Go through your closets. Anything you haven't worn or used in the past year, box it or bag it and take it to a place where those who are less fortunate will benefit from your donation. Get your children involved!

Praise. Make time to praise. Look for and recognize the good in others.

Peace, Love and Gumbo!

Marvin LeBlanc, LUTCF, CNP

Hello Marvelous People!

First I want to tell you that I am honored that you continue to share my
blog with others around the world. Our subscriber base continues to grow &
it is that exact encouragement that continues to keep me committed to bring
you valuable content that may inspire you during your path to higher
achievement.

One of the most precious gifts that you can ever receive – (And by the way
you can’t buy it with money) – is the gift of being around a role model or a
mentor. Around 1980-81, I discovered a person that would be that person for me. Jim Rohn is no longer with us, but his spirit remains inside me today, as it
does millions of others that he has positively impacted over the years. We shared a stage only once. There were 4 or 5 speakers that night. I was the first speaker.He was the last.  As they say, we saved the “BEST FOR LAST”. They did. He spoke to a group of hopeful Network Marketers that were distributing products with Meadow Fresh Farms. A company out of Utah.

That was 31 years ago as I write this text, I enjoyed their nutritional beverage products 20 minutes ago. Their products now are distributed by Legacy.
 Jim Rohn had an impact on me. 31 years ago a product had a positive impact on me. 31 years ago Jim Rohn taught the following Life Lessons to me.

May you enjoy & be inspired by this lesson. This wisdom is TIMELESS.

Sip it, take it in, work with it. And make your life more——WORTHWHILE.
Peace, Love and Gumbo! Marvin LeBlanc

Four Words That Make Life Worthwhile by Jim Rohn

Over the years, as I’ve sought out ideas, principles and strategies to
life’s challenges, I’ve come across four simple words that can make living
worthwhile.

First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN. What you don’t know will hurt you.
You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if
you learn from your own experiences-negative or positive.

We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a
positive negative. We also learn from other people’s experiences, both
positive and negative. I’ve always said that it is too bad failures don’t
give seminars. Obviously, we don’t want to pay them, so they aren’t usually
touring around giving seminars. But that information would be very valuable.
We would learn how someone who had it all, messed it up. Learning from other
people’s experiences and mistakes is valuable information because we can
learn what not to do without the pain of having tried and failed ourselves.

We learn by what we see, so pay attention. We learn by what we hear, so be a
good listener. Now, I do suggest that you should be a selective listener.
Don’t just let anybody dump into your mental factory. We learn from what we
read, so learn from every source. Learn from lectures. Learn from songs.
Learn from sermons. Learn from conversations with people who care. Always
keep learning.

Second, life is worthwhile if you TRY. You can’t just learn. Now you have to
try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference. Try to make
some progress. Try to learn a new skill. Try to learn a new sport. It
doesn’t mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do
if you just try. Try your best. Give it every effort. Why not go all out?

Third, life is worthwhile if you STAY. You have to stay from spring until
harvest. If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the
project, see it through. Sometimes calamity comes; then it is worth wrapping
it up and that’s the end. But just don’t end in the middle. Maybe on the
next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through.

And lastly, life is worthwhile if you CARE. If you care at all, you will get
some results. If you care enough, you can get incredible results. Care
enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care
enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough
to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to
win.

Four powerful little words: learn, try, stay and care. What difference can
you make in your life today by putting these words to work?

Give the perfect “getting-started-in-life” gift to that special graduate.
With The New Graduate SUCCESS Package, you can share the extraordinary
achievement philosophies of the legendary Jim Rohn and SUCCESS magazine
publisher and best-selling author Darren Hardy. Get a FREE Bonus 12-issue
SUCCESS magazine subscription when you give the complete package! Click here now for complete details or to order!

Hello Marvelous Readers: what observations might you offer to the writer of this article?

Usually I don’t write about religion or martial relationships, but usually stick with more mundane topics, diet, exercise, type-2- diabetes, and Internet marketing since these involve my personal and professional passions. This week I visited an old friend, and we started talking about family holiday traditions. I told her about how our family goes shopping together on December 24 at a local mall, come home, wrap presents, and then open them on December 25 as a family. This year though my wife added a Chanukah dinner to the mix, as over the years my religious belief has shifted and while I am not Jewish I consider my beliefs and thoughts about God do fit with Judaism. If you were to press me on “what I am” in regards to religion I would describe myself as a Noahide (Google it.)

As the conversation evolved my friend went to say that she isn’t religious having never been exposed to it growing-up, but her husband is Roman Catholic and attends church weekly bringing their kids while she stays home. The thing that bothers her is that her husband thinks that she is going to HELL because of her lack of faith. I know from previous conversations that my wife is concerned about my eternal salvation since I no longer consider myself a Christian, and she has had to wrestle with this issue but recently she did say to me that she does not believe I am going to HELL, and that we will be together in the world to come even though this flies in the face of Christian belief.

Since my religious journey began in 2006 the thought of my wife thinking I was going to HELL bothered me, but I was able to reconcile that with my learning, new beliefs, and finally came to the spiritual knowledge that God sent me on my journey, and I am willing to accept my learning’s as they come to me. However, in speaking with my friend this week and other friends who no longer share the same beliefs as their spouse this is a real issue when one spouse thinks the other is going to HELL.

Personally I know at some level for the non-believing spouse it does bother them that their spouse thinks they are going to HELL, and at some level the believing spouse is bothered that their spouse does not believe like they used to or maybe never did believe. In the beginning of my journey my wife and I had very personal arguments about religion, and while it will never be 100% solved we have found our relationship is more important than religious belief.  Now the conversations are much more from a position of understanding and concern since we are raising two daughters in a religious belief that Daddy no longer believes. While the older child remembers Daddy at church the younger will grow-up as this being her normal.

The way I see it is how do we as parents demonstrate to our children tolerance for each other’s beliefs while at the same time allowing our girls to have their religious journey? And most importantly let their journey be their own just like their parents’ journey was? Because now as our daughter learns about salvation she worries about her Dad, so how do we reassure her that I will be alright but not ruin her faith in the process? I only wish there was a guide on such matters, but there isn’t and we are left to chart our own course. While the journey is not without incident, I think as a spousal team and parents we are doing a pretty good job explaining these issues to our family.

Written by Brad Heutmaker.  You can follow Brad's Mission to Help America Overcome Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes on his website http://www.bradheutmaker.com/

Peace Love and Gumbo~

Marvin LeBlanc

When people first meet me, (or you for that matter), they immediately start making one of three decisions. This begins with the very first impression. Face-to-face or through technology.

They choose:

1. No, I’m not on the same page with you.
2. Yes, I get you and your message and we ARE on the same page and I want to know more.
3. Maybe, I need more time to get to know you, your information and what you’re all about.

Many people that know me know that I, rarely if ever, have a bad day. Seriously. Now I know what some of you are thinking while you’re reading this. “Marvin, don’t give me that “PollyAnna” crapola, (one of Gitomer’s
favorite words) that all is right with you and your world. We know better. We know you have problems.”

My answer: well of course I have “stuff”. We all have “stuff”. We always WILL have “stuff”. But, how quickly you MOVE ON from one pile of “stuff” to the next is my secret life weapon. That weapon – that unique ability that I
have developed, (beginning in 1978) is how I overcome and overachieve.

What I EXPECT is what I GET. I EXPECT much out of myself and I get much out of myself.
* I’m not blessed with height. (I’m a short, round Cajun.)
* I’m not blessed with good looks. (I had the biggest ears in my 4th Grade Class and the picture is on my Facebook to prove it)
* I was not highly educated at Tulane or Harvard. (But I bleed LSU purple & gold)

What do you EXPECT out of yourself? Are you GETTING what you EXPECT? Are you GIVING what you EXPECT?

I will definitely admit that I do have bad “moments” in my days, but I don’t have bad days.

On Oct. 20th of 2007 my daughter & I were riding my Honda Goldwing. It was a gorgeous, sunny, dry day. We decided to take the scenic River Road out of LaPlace, Louisiana (Hwy.44) – instead of taking the interstate. We were listening to Buddy Guy on my iPod. And then in a flash, we were catapulted directly over the front of my Goldwing. A careless, elderly driver had “T-boned” us.

My daughter lay motionless, face down on the asphalt in the lane of oncoming traffic. Immediately I looked down to see the bones in my right wrist displaced and broken from the impact. We both went over the top of his car. We both were heavily armored with proper bike wear. Besides some lower back pain that my daughter had, she is fine. I incurred 32 stiches in my wrist and 2 screws (my joints tell me when it’s going to rain.) The elderly driver is no longer with us.

But here’s the real point. That was NOT A BAD DAY!!!

WHY? Because we still made it home in time to watch LSU beat Auburn!!! 30-24(LSU had the ball in field goal range at the end of the game, but did not use its remaining timeout, instead calling a pass into the end zone,
which went for the winning TD with 1 second left, keeping our national championship hopes alive. By the way, we won the National Championship in 2007 beating Ohio State 38-24. That was the night that the Buckeyes couldn’t spell O-H-I-O with their big flags. My daughter and I were there. That was NOT A BAD DAY, now was it?)

Now — stop and really hear me.  IT’S WHAT YOU FOCUS ON THAT MATTERS!! IT’S what you CHOOSE to think that matters!

Quit obsessing about what you don’t have. And start obsessing about what you DO HAVE. Start obsessing about what your OPPORTUNITIES are that you can capitalize on. If you’re in a bad work relationship or you’re in a bad personal relationship, make a MOVE!!! This thing called “LIFE” is not a dress rehearsal. Make a MOVE and stop BITCHING!! Hug the people you love and mean it!! Tell people you love them and mean it!!

Well Marvin, you don’t understand my circumstances.

Really? Well then let’s talk about it. No, really. I’m serious. Let’s set an appointment. 15 minutes. And after 15 minutes, you can make one of three decisions about me.

Yes, No or Maybe. We’ll both be better people after the 15 minutes are completed.

Some homework before we talk.

** What specific tools or skills are you lacking that keeps you “stuck” too long?
** Do you honestly believe that things can change for you without you changing?
** Who do you have in your life that is an Accountability Partner that keeps you moving in the right direction?

PS: Did you know that you can leave your comments and opinions and feedback about this blog right here at the site? Please do it. For the benefit of others. We really want to hear what you have to say.