Who would have thought that there was a place right here in Freeport like this? A simple room with tables and chairs where everything bad in your life can change. An event that happens weekly in which people come together for a common purpose and bare their souls--sharing their lives’ shortcomings and failures. Not a dour or glum conclave, but a celebration of life-affirming hope and laughter. There are never two of these happenings exactly the same, and there are many versions in countless other places, too, but always the result is that most who attend leave refreshed and renewed in their resolve.

It costs nothing to participate, though it is true that all who find their way here have paid some heavy “dues”. For those who have never been to this place, have never felt the need to go, perhaps even fear and resent a suggestion that they try it, words are hard to find to describe the magic that happens within these walls. Invariably the threshold is crossed for the first time by those either desperate for change or pressured by courts or loved ones. Newcomers are usually surprised by the warm and enthusiastic welcome they receive, often being told that “they are the most important person there”.

It is kind of a tool shop where one can find the equipment they need to rebuild their broken lives, and some helpful guides to demonstrate, step-by-step, the procedure to do it. At first appearance these helpers seem like common folk, maybe the guy from...

How do you gain momentum now, of all times?

Every industry/business in the world is likely focusing on this question.

Because we all have a different purpose, I imagine a canned answer would read naive and ultimately a waste of thought.

I do suggest reflecting on the obvious does a world of good.

• Do you see your customers daily? Maybe not you, but are they in and out of your business?

If you exam the point you have a face to face with your customer, you will likely find an opportunity to make your next sell without spending another dime on marketing.

Consider your business and whether this is a true statement. Then please comment, if you are so bold.

One recent client and I were brainstorming opportunities for engaging members to refer their business. Because their members have to make a reservation to use their membership, it seemed obvious that a face to face encounter was much more effective than direct mail, an email, or even a phone call. Though these vehicles will be used at discretion, they are not as powerful as the face to face encounter. Why?

When people use your service, frequent your restaurant, or shake your hand- they are at their most courteous level of attention. Why not ask them for their referral right then? How you approach this opportunity will vary sales person to sales person, but I truly believe if you place this tactic in your marketing strategy- you will...

Several have asked Kat or me to write a trip report about our trip to Disney in late February, I got elected. So after delays in gathering photos, and computer problems, and life in general this is it.

Warning, this is going to be a trip report that is, for lack of a better phrase annoyingly happy. Due to much stress in my life and Kat’s we set out on this adventure with one purpose in mind, to have as much fun as we could, and believe me we did.

Hopefully Kat will jump in and interject some of her personal comments and observations. Traveling with Kat is definitely an adventure and I say that with the greatest appreciation for someone that knows how to have a good time and appreciates the smallest things in a very large way. My life has been very blessed to become her friend.

I drove down from Memphis on Saturday, Feb. 21 after many road construction delays and detours I got to SoWal early evening. I called Kat to let her know I had arrived, checked into my room at the Marriot Sandestin, and got a quick bite to eat and settled in to read a good book.

Suddenly realized what it was I had forgotten; my laptop. Later decided this was probably a blessing, in that it removed me and Kat from all things such as email, etc. during our week at Disney. In talking to Kat we decided we wanted to get an early start, so I told her I would pick her up at 7am, and she was already ready to get on the road so I got to bed, to get a good...

One of the fun things about taking Kat with me to Disney World for the first time together was sharing things with her that I have done so many times before. My family first went to Disney World in 1987 and my husband, daughter and I have gone every year for 22 years. We just kept going year after year and honestly I can say each year we found something new and exciting we had missed the previous year. It was great fun to share with Kat things I had enjoyed over the years.

What we love most about going is the opportunity to capture just for a few days that childlike happiness and abandon that is inside all of us, but gets pushed back at times by the real world we live in. We love the opportunity for a short time to experience Disney magic. It truly is an escape.

Over the course of 22 years we have made many wonderful friends at Disney. Many were working the front desk at the resorts 20 years ago and now are in executive management positions. Those friendships will play a large part in the magic of our trip.

Ok, now back to Saratoga Springs, we checked in and got our informational packet. It is always interesting at check in because my friends always make notations in the computer about my arrival and put me on VIP status and as the front desk agent reads the computer, you can suddenly see her eyes get large and then she disappears behind that door that one always wonders what is back there.

What is back there is the management...

In the Prayer of St. Francis, he states “It is in dying to one’s self that we are born into everlasting life” This paradox, a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth, goes hand-in-hand with several spiritual principles of recovery that are counter-intuitive but indispensable.
One of these, “to keep our sobriety, we must give it away” is an expression of the importance of service in recovery, reminding us that true joy comes from giving rather than receiving. If we get complacent and cease to share our life in recovery with others, it will only be a matter of time until we lose our joy and drink or use again.
A well loved expression in recovery circles is “my best thinking got me here”. When the truth of that statement is accepted, the question then becomes, “So what do I do now? How do I get to a better place?” If my current misery and despair are the result of my best figuring, or my own self-will given free rein, what specific steps should I take to escape this hell of my own creation?
The answer: Surrender my own will (my plans, even my ideas how things should go) and let someone else “do the driving” for a change. My life is a train-wreck so I need to find a better “engineer” to take over.
I can tell you from experience that this works. When I stopped insisting on doing things my way, realized that my compulsion to control everything was a futile fantasy and just gave up, things immediately...