Dear Melissa,

Stretched again . . . . Is it just me or do I feel like I get two thirds of the way through my completion list each day and never quite get it all done? Are you also seeking the 28 hour day? The 6 day week? I feel kind of like that quip I read years ago . . . “I used to have a handle on life, but it fell off!” At least I get more done with a completion list than a to do list. What's the difference, you ask? To Do can easily not get done, but a To Completion indicates by it's very wording that it must be completed. Try it, semantics can truly change your life!

Ready for China! Part of my current crunch is the anticipation of heading off to China on June 14 for twelve days. I am determined to wrap all business to a point where I can leave my cell phone and laptop with an auto responder and really immerse myself in the culture, learning, and people. Travel is so often ineffective and unenjoyable when we are still tugged at by all of our responsibilities on the home and work front.

Art for the Heart! I've really had a ball lately (is that saying too dated?) checking out the summer array of arts festivals. This last weekend was Virginia Highlands Festival and it was a good one. The weather was just overcast enough to keep it comfortably cool and foot traffic was up and people were adding inspiration to their lives. I met a handful of new artists and renewed friendships with many I knew. What a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

Live Well and Beautifully,
Melissa

"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation."
~ Pearl S. Buck
Pulitzer and Nobel Prize Winning Author

The Limelight Gallery

SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) is having a student (adult professionals embarking on new passions) exhibit and sale on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 12-13 with a reception on June 13. Check it out:

The Limelight Gallery at BINDERS
3330 Piedmont Road, Suite 18
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-237-6331

How to Fail in Business

Do you know what the single biggest failure in businesses today is? Failure to follow up. It is so simple but so often overlooked. In my first three years in business, I sent every client I made a call to a thank you note. It didn't matter if it was my first call or my fifth call, I sent a note. This practice created a tremendous buzz among my clients and aided in building my business by referrals. That is the essence of following up. What do you do to follow up regularly?

Beyond thank you notes, I have shared with clients and friends alike that my reputation is truly based on my responsiveness (my follow up) and if they don't hear back from me from a voicemail or email within 24 hours and usually within 6 hours, please get in touch again. (The Gods of Technology ate it! Aka Bellsouth, Comcast etc.) What is your response time?

I left three messages for a contractor last week with no reply. While I will finish my existing jobs with them, I had two new jobs to refer and simply won't do it without prompt response. With business as competitive as it is, there are five other vendors to take their place that I can direct my business to. The same is true of my business, if I fail to follow up, they can go and will go elsewhere.
What is your reputation for following up? What sets you apart?

Choosing your Productive Times for Success

I am finding myself working every Sunday and realize that rather than stop that, I am going to begin taking Fridays off. You see Sunday is quiet, and I get a lot more done without interruptions, so it is far more productive for me to keep that and enjoy my Friday off. I know it may sound radical, but after all it is my life! I can architect my life for it to suit me, and you can do the same for yourself . Certainly it helps that I am an entrepreneur and not on the corporate clock, but I am betting there are plenty of opportunities within the confines of corporate structure that allow flexibility that haven't been explored. With the advent of telecommuting, constructing a unique professional schedule is ever easier. What is your most productive time? Use it for your greatest success!

Yes, I do have a desired experience of a four day work week with that fifth day devoted to reading, research and writing. And I am working toward it steadily. The important thing is that I realize it is all my choice. You see we can each design and architect our lives as we desire, but too often we don't. Sadly many of us are operating out of default, instead of by design.

Wright's Gourmet - Dunwoody, GA

This is my favorite sandwich shop! I know it isn't fine dining, but it is a fine lunch salad, soup or sandwich, delectable cakes and even frozen takeout options. I'm kind of basic and love a killer fresh BLT, but they also do a great club sandwich (you'll want to order half only as whole is well enough for two). Their muffaletta is a real cultural manifesto! Salads range from your basic chopped cobb salad to a summer berry salad with bibb lettuce, strawberries, pecans and a luscious poppyseed dressing. Their lemonade cake is legendary and the black Russian worth the calories. You can eat in or take out and it packages neatly in a large carryall for movie munching. (Yes, I did used to go theatre to theatre with a sandwich and soda in my coat pocket!)

Wright's Gourmet
5482 Chamblee Dunwoody Road
Atlanta, GA 30338
770-396-7060
www.wrightgourmetshoppe.com

This truly captures the typical angst of mother/daughter relationships and did it with heart and soul. Fonda gets only better with age and is certainly at her wisest in this. She has always managed to have a fragile quality about her despite her tough talk and “rules.” Lohan does justice to this as the sexually out of control social outcast in a small town of uptight old fashioned folk. She learns quickly that she can’t walk all over her grandmother and learns a bit about self respect and respecting others. Mulroney is convincing as the small town veterinarian who is still grappling with the death of his wife and son in a car accident a few years before. He is grey with woe and a life given up to quiet grief. It takes the arrival of his old high school sweetheart, now a soon to be divorced, alcoholic city girl to reawaken his passion for life and love. Huffman is fall down good as the alcoholic. She deserves top billing. Elwes is truly distasteful as the pedophile of a stepdad, really makes your skin crawl. We all need rules to live by and Georgia has some of the finest! A rare and well done piece of film.