"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

Melody Beattie
Author

“If what I am is what I have and if what I have is lost, who then am I.”



Erich Fromm

"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough."

Og Mandino
1923-1996, Author and Speaker

The United States accounts for almost a quarter of the 84 million barrels of oil consumed in the world each day.

Some items invented in Dallas (from The Dallas Morning News: 5/6/99)

* The nation's first convenience stores, the vast 7-Eleven chain, now in 18 countries, started here in 1922.
* Henry Garrett invented the first car radio in the early 1920s and possibly the first automatic electric traffic light.
* In 1931, Highland Park Village opened, the first shopping center with stores surrounding a central parking area.
* In 1938, Hillcrest State Bank opened the first drive-up bank window.
* The first integrated circuit, which became the microchip, was invented by Jack Kilby in 1958 at Texas Instruments.
* The idea for the ubiquitous ATM machine came from Don Wetzel in the 1960s.
* The frozen margarita was invented by Dallas restauranteur Mariano Martinez in 1971.
* Inspired by his daughter's Super Ball, Dallas' Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, coined "Super Bowl."
* Barney, the lovable purple dinosaur of Public Broadcasting, comes from Dallas area, as does the smart, history-loving dog, Wishbone.

"Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you."

Zig Ziglar
Author and Speaker

"Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts."

Edward R. Murrow
1908-1965, Journalist and Broadcaster

John's editorial appeared in today: Abilene Reporter News
www.reporternews.com

John Hill's editorial: today Abilene Reporter News

What did you all think of his editorial?

How dare he compare how $33,000 per year people live to $66,000 per year, I've seen poorer places than Abilene
and they have robust economies, in China, India, and there's no embarassment when you drive through town, sure you have to
move the cows off the road in India but people like it, in fact I took photos of it. And I'm still talking about the crazy driving in both countries: ITS CULTURAL, no one is trying to change the entrance ways to Yiwu China, its growing very fast and they change all the time---- Maybe Mr. Hill should revisit the real Friendly Forntier: It was filled with gun fights, chicken fights, smoking salons, muddy streets that then went to bricks ( and now a brick street is priceless), and yes houses of illreupte. It was NOT TAME!

Here's a contradiciton: The hottest game in the USA is TEXAS Holdem and Yes Texas has outlawed the game for money! Gov. Perry could pay for the kiddies eduction with Licensing Texas Holdem authentic game sets all over the world,commercialize the brand "Texas Holdem".

Frontier Texas, you can't smoke on the property and all the hero's smoked and gambled--and many other things.
Disney has had its effects! Cultural wussification of America!

We live in a cleaned up make blieve Frontier! wow that's exciting!

These points are from a friend I met several years ago Gary North
the entire article is great on What WalGreens forgot! : http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north346.html

So, for the benefit of sellers everywhere – and if you earn a living, you are a seller – here are the basics of successful selling. They all are an extension of this principle: "The customer, possessing money, holds the economic hammer."

1. Word of mouth is the most cost-effective form of marketing. (With the Internet, it’s word of mouse.)
2. The customer is always right, unless he is trying to cheat you, and even then you probably ought to go along with him anyway, once.
3. Identify your ideal customer, and structure everything that your company does to meet his/her demands.
4. If a price is listed, honor it – no bait and switch, no "that sale ended yesterday."
5. Offer a money-back guarantee or "we’ll fix it free of charge" (risk-reversal).
6. The value of a customer is the profit generated by the number of repeat sales (the lifetime value of the customer).
7. The first sale is the most expensive one for a seller to generate.
8. Profitability is in repeat sales (the back end).
9. Repeat customers are more forgiving.
10. Don’t carry a product line that repeatedly alienates customers.
11. Keep all sales records in a data base.
12. Use the data base to spot successes and problems.
13. Use the data base to make special offers to the ideal customers you want to return.
14. The customer evaluates the entire company through the people he deals with in the store.
15. Train your entire staff to understand these principles.
16. Create a system of ongoing rewards and punishments that reinforces this training.
17. Implement this system.
18. Begin at the top.