Branding Yourself....or "Take Out the Trash" !

Empty the Trash

Not to brag, but I can say from experience that thinking outside the box, and being giving in service to others gets one ahead in life for sure...I once applied for a job at a home improvement sales office, and came in with a suit and tie, and everyone else was in Class B and C clothes....even T's and jeans....It was hot and we were all told to wait to be interviewed for the telemarketing job....I didnt really want that job, I wanted a sales job....Everyone else looked like they had a 'wet dish rag" attitude....limp and tired...and all the sudden I noticed that all the trashes in the offices were full to overflowing, and even on the floor...


I went to each office....shook hands and introduced myself quickly with a handshake and offered to take the trash out to the dumpster....They all accepted Thankfully and Graciously, maybe even a little embarrassed....and I got the telemarketing job, and kept on emptying the trashes....until that first week, the Boss came in the call office and asked me"...OK, Steve, What Do You want...?" I told him I wanted a sales job, and he asked me into his office and gave me the job, and I went to the sales class...and went out and sold a $13,000 window replacement job.....on my first call! 

That story has always been in my mind   how easy it is to stick out in the crowd of mediocrity with just a little enthusiasm and self belief!   Amen !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Suit & Tie


I moved from Natick to Boston when I was starting out, and I needed a job....I put on a tie and suit and went out to Filenes and Bloomingdales, etc...because I had experience in Shipping and Receiving....It was the hottest day of the year so far, and I returned to my new street, and thought Id get a cold drink and a lunch at the corner diner.... I was weary from the heat....

So I was talking to the owner behind the counter and he asked me what I was doing that day...and I replied...."I'm looking for a job...."  He then asked me a few more questions and hired me on the spot to work the graveyard shift for all the bars that got out at around 1:00 AM....Id never worked in a diner, but I prepped, cooked, took orders, bussed tables and ran the register, and put up with drunks and city people from 11 to 7 AM....

One day the Boss and I were working together, and I asked him why he hired me, seein as I never really had any experience cooking for the public, to which he replied, "....because no one ever came looking for a job with a suit and tie !"......I realized he thought that I was telling him that I was applying at his store when he asked me what I was doing that day, and that he didn't know I was just getting food there , hungry from applying at other jobs!  

Wow! 

That really showed me that first appearances REALLY DO MATTER, and that Clothes Do Make The Man! Dont they?  Again, it doesnt take much, really, to stand out and make a difference in branding yourself head and shoulders above mediocrity !

Stephen S

Encouragement For All Free Rice Players.....A Cool Video

I have started a group within FREE RICE Dot Com called
"Be The Change"  It is a group of people that have decided
to join in and play the easy quizzes there; and with each correct
answer they earn 10 grains of rice to feed the poor and starving
of the world....!

One of the most important things is to keep motivated as time
goes on....to keep clicking through the game every day even if it
becomes tedious or boring.....since hunger knows no mercy and
never takes a break.....

The Sad Facts.....

A child dies every five seconds from starvation....thats 6 million
a year.....There are over 135 million malnourished children in this
world, and the fact is that the world produces enough food to feed
every man, woman, and child a healthy diet every day.....

For this reason I have taken it upon myself to recruit as many Free
Rice Players as I can and keep them motivated in the fight against
hunger. The video above should encourage players and people
considering joining to believe in the Free Rice Cause, and play
as much as possible.....

Joining Free Rice is free, and one can join the "Be The Change"
group I have created to feel the cameraderie in numbers.....
We have 16 members who, so far in a few weeks have earned over
a quarter million grains of rice ! I am ecstatic and my heart is touched
to say the least !

This game allows people with no money to actually donate to the poor.
It educates, its fun, and it has fed millions of people worldwide already....

Here are directions to join the group and start earning food a little bit
every day to actually feed starving fellow human beings around the world
and to you can copy and paste this to others you invite as well!




Directions To Join FREE RICE:

Go To: http://freerice.com

Join and create a small profile

Look for the "Group" button and Do A Search and find "Be The Change"

Join The group and click "play" on the right and have some fun helping
a real cause...The English Vocabulary Game is, I think, the easiest, but
there are many games to choose from.

Read the FAQ to learn how this program works so that you wont falter
in your belief that this program is the Real Deal! You will stop "working"
unless you believe in the results, that you are actually filling a starving,
gnawing" stomach with each click...

Don't forget to always go through the Group to start playing if you 
LOG OUT, but if you just "X" out the site, you will continue where 
you left off as far as totals and group participation.

You can also go to each persons profile in the group and click the 
"Follow This User" button, and "Friend Them"...and their totals 
will show up on your friend list....

If you start getting a lot of wrong answers, you can click 
"Re-Start" and start over in the easy beginning again....
or you can choose another Game....

Don't forget to "Duplicate yourself by spreading the word about 
this....It's a Great Way to feed the starving of this world where 
you can make a difference without spending money! Stay in touch 
with recruits and create consistency of momentum and build habit.....
ask for a simple daily commitment after they check their email,
like 15 minutes a day....

Thank You For Taking Compassionate Action!

Stephen Stavropoulos
stav7256@gmail.com

Progress In Feeding The Poor - Thanks To You!

A few weeks back I started
group at the Free Rice site,
called "Be The Change"
I invited people to it,
and so far I'm glad to
announce that we have
16 members who have
earned 250,000 grains of rice!
That's over 1/4 MILLION grains
of nutrition for the poor and
starving of this world!

I'm ecstatic to say the least!

As far as I know, it takes approx. 400 grams of rice to feed one person enough nutrition for one day....(two meals) There are 48 grains of rice in a gram and at this rate we will have earned ONE MILLION grains of rice in 3 or 4 months, even at only 16 members, as long as we keep up the little bit every day that we are doing !

Keep up the good work!

Free Rice is a website that gives people like me the opportunity
to donate and make a difference who don't have extra cash sitting
around...all one has to do is answer fun questions about English
Vocabulary, Grammar, or may other subjects, and for each correct
answer, the advertisers at that site pay for 10 grains of rice...
for the privilege of displaying their banners.

Some groups have earned in excess of four million grains !

If you are interested in having fun a few minutes a day earning
rice to feed the poor here are some directions to join:



Go To: http://freerice.com

Join and create a small profile

Look for the "Group" button and Do A Search and find
"Be The Change"

Join The group and click "play" on the right and
have some fun helping a real cause...The English Vocabulary
Game is, I think, the easiest, but there are many games
to choose from.

Read the FAQ to learn how this program works so that
you wont falter in your belief that this program is the
Real Deal! You will stop "working" unless you believe in
the results, that you are actually filling a starving,
gnawing" stomach with each click...

Don't forget to always go through the Group to start
playing if you LOG OUT, but if you just "X" out the
site, you will continue where you left off as far as totals
and group participation.

You can also go to each persons profile in the group
and click the "Follow This User" button, and "Friend Them"
...and their totals will show up on your friend list....

If you start getting a lot of wrong answers, you can click
"Re-Start" and start over in the easy beginning again....
or you can choose another Game....

Don't forget to "Duplicate yourself by spreading the word
about this....It's a Great Way to feed the starving of this
world where you can make a difference without spending money!
Stay in touch with recruits and create consistency of momentum
and build habit.....ask for a simple daily commitment after
they check their email, like 15 minutes a day....

Thank You For Taking Compassionate Action!

If you do have a small amount of cash that you feel you can donate,
then the World Food Programme and the We Feedback Program is a good
place! The we feedback plan asks you to figure lets say what your
breakfast cost this morning, and to use their calulator to figure
what that would feed for how many children you choose to feed...
For instance I had a .50 cent bowl of cereal this morning, and if
I fed 50 children the calculator figured it would cost $12.50,
so that's what I donated. It was fun, and its the worlds largest
community of people giving to end world hunger.

Then, as a registered member, I got to design a "widget" to put
on my blog and in my Facebook page, etc etc...to invite others
to do the same....Check it Out !









THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH

MY HEART IS TOUCHED AND FILLED BY ALL THAT OUR MEMBERS HAVE DONE!

Stephen Stavropoulos
Group Leader
"Be The Change" @
http://freerice.com


stav7256@gmail.com

Earn Free Rice To Feed The Starving !

Hey!

I belong to Free Rice dot com....Its a 'free to join' group that features free EASY games to play that advertisers have said they were willing to pay to provide rice to the poor and starving of the world with each correct answer. They get to display their banners below each game and are willing to pay towards the 10 grains of rice per answer. Ive earned over 30,000 grains so far by playing a little bit every day. They say it takes about 240 grains to give one person nutrition for one day.

I've set my time management plan to include listening to my Audible.com NY Times being read for an hour every day and click through the answers while I listen...but it takes about 8 mins or less to answer 24 "questions" , thus earning enough to actually feed one person for a day....and a child dies every 5 seconds from starvation....Think about it >>>>

You can play this game alone or join a group that others can join....there are many groups there, and I have started a group called "Be The Change" there...The groups name is merely a title to invite people to and create a sense of "Team Work"...many groups have earned over 4 million grains...!!!!!!

There are many games to choose from, but I play the English Vocabulary game..and the Spanish game .its just picking a synonym for each word like "simple = easy"....It proceeds through levels of difficulty and I usually make it though the 40th level of difficulty before I start getting wrong answers, but they just repeat soon after they tell you the right answer and you can learn more vocabulary, or you can click to start over easy again...

The idea is to feed the starving of the world...

OK...so this is where the rubber meets the road...this is where its better to take action than to just talk about it....I like knowing that Ive earned enough grains to feed a lot of people, and it was fun actually....Lets all join this free site, and make it a small part of our day right after we check our email...I KNOW we do that every day,




Directions For Joining The group "Be The Change" at Free Rice:

(Copy & Paste This To Invite others!)

* Go To: http://freerice.com

* Join For Free and create a small profile

* Look for the "Group" button and Do A Search 
and find "Be The Change"

* Join The group and click "play" on the right and have 
some fun helping a real cause...The English Vocabulary Game is, 
I think, the easiest, but there are many games to choose from.

* Read the FAQ to learn how this program works so that you 
wont falter in your belief that this program is the Real Deal! 
You will stop "working" unless you believe in the results, 
that you are actually filling a starving, gnawing" stomach 
with each click...

* Don't forget to always go through the Group to start 
playing if you LOG OUT, but if you just "X" out the site, 
you will continue where you left off as far as totals
and group participation.

* You can also go to each persons profile in the group and 
click the "Follow This User" button, and "Friend Them"
 ..and their totals will show up on your friend list....

* If you start getting a lot of wrong answers, you can click 
"Re-Start" and start over in the easy beginning again....
or you can choose another Game....There are Sixty Levels of 
Difficulty in the Vocabulary Game...See how far you can get!

* Don't forget to "Duplicate yourself by spreading the word 
about this....It's a Great Way to feed the starving of this world 
where you can make a difference without spending money! 
Stay in touch with recruits and create consistency of momentum
and build habit.....ask for a simple daily commitment after they 
check their email, like 15 minutes a day....

Thank You For Taking Compassionate Action!

Thanks 

with Love 

Smilinsteve

My New Cause....End World Hunger

Hey everybody! It's been a while since
I posted on my blog, but I feel as though
I have an important enough issue to
merit the time and effort to do it,
so here it is....

I belong to a Ning group on the net that
is called "Musically...One"

This group is a bunch of people from
all over the world that share their Love for one thing together..Music.

One can also create a group within that group, and one dear
friend of mine did just that and called it,..."Be The Change".
This group name is based on the saying of Ghandis...If you want
see change in the world, First Be That Change, or something
to that effect....

I joined that group, and it has been heart warming and
inspirational to read what people have said about what they do
to help others, and what they think about that subject.

One discussion question asked by the group creator "Nicole" was
"What Is Your Dream For The World Today?' My response was...
at first , well, its one thing to have a dreamy wish that sounds
good, but it probably isnt really possible to actually see it done
in real life....but after some thought I realized that my Dream
for the world would be to see hunger in the world eradicated,
completely....or at least put in check by the cooperation of those
nations that can feed themselves, and afford to help.

Since then Ive seen various videos from the World Food Programme,
and learned soooo much about world hunger, especially how it affects
children. There are ONE POINT SIX BILLION starving people on the
earth today, more then there ever was in history, and from that group
a child dies every 5 seconds or so....Youve seen all the heart wrenching
pictures, videos, and ads that try to cause an emotional response out
of you the viewer, and get a donation out of you to help...

Ive been quite impressed enough to make a few donations myself, from
my small funds; being unemployed for 9 months and disabled at home
as you know from this blog. I realize from my own suffering, that
there are no guarantees in life, and that mankind is suffering daily
in ways that far outstretch anything Ive ever known...

Untold suffering Usually Remains So....

As a matter of fact, I'm alive today because I live in a pretty good
area of the USA, and if I lived anywhere 'poorer' my chances of
survival would have been pretty slim. I was devastated by the severe
interruption of my American Dream Lifestyle....Ive spent thousands on
myself to live well, being well fed multiple times a day....warmed by my
furnace, well educated, & playing in bands with my friends since '71.

Ive had medical help for all my little aches and pains, dental help
for my toothaches, expert hospitals nearby to save my life in case
I need emergency surgery....

Ive spent much money on pot, drink, porno, and entertainment of
all kinds, movies, clubs, sports, cable, TV, cell phones and
clothing for all seasons just in case my little fingers get cold !!

No wonder I've never responded with even $10 to help the Truly
Suffering people of this world....I might need my precious needs
filled, and my flesh is hopelessly selfish and blind to the world
around me....Ive used the excuse "Oh...charities are keeping such a
large percentage of the money, that no one really sees aid anyway...."
or "Govts in those countries are so corrupt that aid never makes
it to the poor..."



Shame on me! especially in the age of the internet, where, if I really
CARED about my fellow man, I could easily do a few minutes of research
and find endless lists of charity ratings, and which ones are really
making a difference, and which ones are transparent and willing to
open their books to scrutiny!

Its so easy to whip out a credit card for a book at Amazon, and spend
$10+ dollars without a second thought, or to buy a bunch of songs for my
mp3 player that already has over 600 songs on it....

 

Please fill the cup! Im on a fixed income from SSI, and I gave $30, and
if I can you can too....If you want you can give $250 or even $10 to
the Smile Train and actually get a childs cleft palate fixed..You CAN..
or if youre one of those that want to feed the starving in the US, and
there are millions, you can easily research that like I did, and for
$22 a month you can help a child get meds, schooling, and food through
Children International...

And if you don't want to donate $$$, you can play the fun and educational
synonym game at Free Rice and earn 10 grains of rice for every correct
response....Ive earned over 20,000 grains of rice by playing a bit every day and it takes about 240 grains to provide nutrition to one person per day...

Now you really don't have an excuse!

(Please know that if you click any of these linked words above, you will
not go to a separate website, but you will have to use the Back Button
to return to this blog....Let me know if you've donated by leaving a
Comment below and make my day and save the life of a child in this world....)

Feel completely awesome about yourself in rich and deep ways, especially
in this world of complaining, fighting, and struggling to survive...






Blessings Will Abound from Your Creator..Its Better To Give Than To Receive

Thanks for reading   With Love, Smilinsteve

Another Obituary Moment.....Or It's Time To Really Live !

As I was growing up, my parents would remark 
to each other about someone famous either in 
music or film, or a relative, who had passed away. 
Depending on how far or close they were to 
my parents lives, and how much they identified 
with them...they would exhibit that amount of 
sorrow. It always fascinated me and 
I would take interest in listening to them, 
with a mix of new sorrow for whoever it was 
to a neutral learning about that person...


It seemed to me that my parents were quite 
taken by some peoples passing....and that's 
usually when I learned of that person...because 
of their obituary. I remember learning the word 
"obituary", and realized that all the recent deaths 
in the local area were printed in the newspaper. 
That was quite a read for a while....

The most famous person I didn't know about 
until he died was Martin Luther King. I remember 
sitting in the den and watching a show on television, 
and all of a sudden the announcement interrupted
my show, saying that Martin Luther King was shot, and he was dead.
I was briefly upset that my show was interrupted, but I also knew 
that I was going to tell my Mother the news, and maybe she would
be interested or not....


To my surprise she was devastated. She began to cry and 
was so smitten by it that she was completely taken with the news. 
I had no idea who this man was, or that she even knew his name..
but in the ensuing few days I saw the national funeral and non stop 
news coverage about his legacy and what he stood for. 


Mr. King (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) was shot in 1968, 
and I was born on July 25, 1956, so I was 11 years old. That 
time was also filled with the deaths of John and Bobby Kennedy, 
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Jack Ruby, and many many 
others including our own relatives.


We watch the procession of births and deaths on a daily basis....
but I for one felt like I would live to a ripe old age, and I could 
live and act in any manner I wanted. Time keeps marching forward... 
See the world clock here:  and see the world birth and death rate here   

(Right Click the links and click "Open In A new website or use your 
Back button to return to the Blog)


This is the most amazing site Ive ever seen on the net  
You click the little icon to launch it, and then you are taken 
to the most sobering info you'll ever see. If you hover your 
cursor over any country, you will see the birth and death rate 
of that country in real time, and you will see the amount of CO2 
being released by that country and per person!

In the US someone is born every 7.4 seconds, and dies 
every 12.1 seconds. We have a population of 311,000,000+ 
and climbing, and we release CO2 into our air at the rate of 
1000 tonnes every 5.3 seconds!! Thats 19.22 tonnes per 
person per year....and thats only the US...


This website is absolutely staggering...a stunning real time 
WAKE UP CALL to the citizens of the Earth to stop "Living a 
Death march", and to start pulling together and conserve, and 
stop populating at such an alarming rate! We might even be at 
a tipping point already! We simply cannot keep going at the 
rate we are and maintain the same quality of life that we are 
barely enjoying now!

It's definitely time for me to start Living, in every way I can 
to Love and be Loved, To Fulfill My Dreams, and more than 
that, to do what I can to help my world and my fellow man! 


Watch The Girl Who Silenced The World For Five Minutes

Its time my friends....what happened to me showed me 
that Death is right around the corner.. it can and does happen 
every second.....life is precious and fleeting, and the consequences 
of our actions will no longer be local, but Global! 


You can believe I'm drawing, practicing my music, and 
Following My Bliss. 

To hell with wasting time! 

To Love and be Loved.....To make sure Im 
doing my part at the voting booth and beyond!


Like 9/11 banded us all together for a short while, I 
believe that world disasters will bring mankind together to 
aid each other....We will be "scared straight" from being 
pushed to the precipice of Eternity....To Hell with 
partisan politics ! To hell with greed and corruption...
To hell with waste and pollution!  If mankind doesnt act 
and act quickly, there wont be a world 
to gloat over in riches and authority! 

OK! I can get off my soap box now...but I really have 
new eyes....I have a third aneurysm and it could burst 
at any time...Ive had two aorta surgeries this year, and I 
wish I had a dollar for every time I was told how lucky I was
to still be alive! 


We dont take our belongings to the afterlife. We dont 
garner an award for how much we earn, but we sure will 
still have our relationships with each other I believe, and 
the quality of our judgments and actions both personal and 
to our fellow man. 


What am doing to help? What do I conserve? What cause 
am I interested in? Who do I love, and how do I really treat 
my peers? Why am I or arent I religious, or political, and how 
does it really affect anything but to create an argument?
What strengths do I have that can benefit people, or improve 
the quality of life?


Please leave Comments: I Love it! Thanks for reading this far....
I get to pour my heart out here and Im grateful to you for reading. 


“Death is more universal than life. Everyone dies but not everyone 
lives.” -Alan Sachs




Thanks


Stephen Stavropoulos
Dec 17 2010

Do I Have To Go To Cardiac Rehab?......Yes, Yes, YES !

Since Ive been home these 7 months 
Ive been dealing with being so shortwinded, 
it's the #1 "ailment" that I struggle with
besides the actual "tightness" and pain 
of the second incision (around the ribs on 
my left side)....I'm really out of condition...




To that end Ive been set up in cardiac 
rehab 3 times a week, every Mon, Wed, 
and Friday....I get a cab ride paid for by my 
insurance. When I first arrived there, 
again, I wept for the fact that I was 
among disabled people having to exercise because we all almost died at one point in the recent past...


I fill out a slip about my meds and weight, and start class with
tabs stuck to my chest that hook up with wires to a transmitter
that sends a signal to the nurse about my "vitals" while I'm exercising..


Then we all stretch, and I use a set of 3 lb. dumbells to start building 
back up some muscle....I haven't progressed much on the weight
since the rotator cuffs in both my shoulders hurt too much....


After that short initial stretching, we all use a treadmill, and a stationary
rowing machine, and a recumbent cycle machine for a minimum of 
ten minutes each.....I'm at the beginning using the lightest settings as 
far as resistance and time...


I really have a love and appreciation for the two rehab nurses who 
run the class, Cheryl and Pat....They tirelessly take all of our blood 
pressures 3 times a visit, before, during and after the exercises, and 
check on our exertion and keep us motivated and cheerful...


This is the rehab class I had the TIA (small warning stroke) 
and if it wasn't for the attentiveness of Cheryl who knows what 
would've happened! Luckily, I was on the same floor in rehab as 
the ER, and I was taken care of promptly.


Ive been told that I should figure Id be going there till at least 
the middle of January....I am progressively getting my "wind" 
back, and feeling better every day....It's great! I realize that it 
takes consistency to really reap the benefits of exercising, and 
getting in condition again.


When I go home, I use my computer, and have started a  
portrait drawing class online, since I am now able to do the 
things that I couldn't very easily when I was painting houses 
every day.....like practice my bass and guitar


I still play in a band, and have even gigged a few times since 
my heart events. Thank God I am still ALIVE and able to live 
life daily to its fullest...to still pursue what I love to do in life, 
and I still am living to love and be loved....


Thanks so much for reading


Smilinsteve


Dec 7, 2010