My 10-day Digital Detox

My phone normally is with me everywhere, yes even in the bathroom (75 percent of Americans do this) at times. My iPad greets me in the morning with news and some fairly competitive games of Words With Friends. My email greets me with problems to solve. At stoplights, my phone keeps my mind busy so that, God forbid, I just relax.

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Goofus and Gallant … A Tale of Two Businesses

Some of you may recall the classic characters Goofus and Gallant from Highlights Magazine for Children. As you might guess, Goofus did things wrong … and Gallant, as the name implies, was gallant and did things right.

In doing some research on this, I learned that the Goofus and Gallant feature never offers direct lessons or shows consequences. Highlights CEO Garry Cleveland Myers III notes, “It simply shows a wrong way and a right way of doing things, that’s all.”

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7 Reasons You Should Buy the Apple Watch (Or Another Smart Watch)

The hype around the Apple Watch is reaching epic proportions, and while I am far from an Apple fan boy, there are some very good reasons you should buy a smart watch based on my recent interaction with my own smart watch.

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I Didn’t Want to Write This

As I write this, it is Saturday at 6 a.m. Normally, I would be getting ready for an enjoyable morning run with my friends. Not today. This morning, I’m lying down with a bag of frozen peas on my knee. As much as I wanted to get out, the wise move was to take this Saturday morning off and let my painful and bruised knee heal.

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Give the Gift of Time

None of us have the time we’d like to accomplish what we need to get done. Time is a precious commodity—both in the business and personal sense. With more time, we can get more sales, make more money, spend more time with family and friends, and invest in things we enjoy.

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Going Direct

I thought that would capture your eyes today because it’s a perennial hot topic in our industry. Today, we’re going somewhere else–interpersonal communication—that thing where a message is sent from one person to another, and another message returned. Interpersonal communication can be in-person, over the phone, through email or text–you name it.

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2015 … Really?

As I write this, it is hot in Southern California, making it hard to believe that summer is almost over and fall soon will be upon us. This year we didn’t take a big vacation, but took a couple of short ones. Our end-of-the-summer getaway was a few days on Catalina Island. Catalina is an awesome gem, just an hour by boat out of Long Beach, Calif. We hiked, visited the interior where bison roam, saw bald eagles, did miniature bowling, at which I am horrible, and had a few good meals. Getting away is so important to our personal and professional development.

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Why the Heck Did You Dispute that Credit Card Charge?

After noticing a discrepancy in my credit card batch total, I called my credit card merchant and was informed that one of my customers who had placed a $500 order for mugs disputed the credit card charge! Distributors, has this ever happened to you?

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