Archive for Clear Intentions
FCC Sends National Broadband Plan to Congress
Posted by: | CommentsPlan Details Actions for Connecting Consumers, Economy with 21st Century Networks
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Federal Communications Commission delivered to Congress a
National Broadband Plan setting an ambitious agenda for connecting all corners of the nation
while transforming the economy and society with the communications network of the future –
robust, affordable Internet.
“The National Broadband Plan is a 21st century roadmap to spur economic growth and
investment, create jobs, educate our children, protect our citizens, and engage in our democracy,”
said Chairman Julius Genachowski. “It’s an action plan, and action is necessary to meet the
challenges of global competitiveness, and harness the power of broadband to help address so
many vital national issues.”
“In every era, America must confront the challenge of connecting the nation anew,” said Blair
Levin, Executive Director of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative at the FCC. “Above all else, the
plan is a call to action to meet that challenge for our era. If we meet it, we will have networks,
devices, and applications that create new solutions to seemingly intractable problems.”
Closing Broadband Gaps
Titled “Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan,” the Plan found that while
broadband access and use have increased over the past decade, the nation must do much more to
connect all individuals and the economy to broadband’s transformative benefits. Nearly 100
million Americans lack broadband at home today, and 14 million Americans do not have access
to broadband even if they want it. Only 42 percent of people with disabilities use broadband at
home, while as few as 5 percent of people living on Tribal lands have access. Meanwhile, the
cost of digital exclusion for the student unable to access the Internet to complete a homework
assignment, or for the unemployed worker who can’t search for a job online, continues to grow.
Other gaps threaten America’s global competitiveness. A looming shortage of wireless spectrum
could impede U.S. innovation and leadership in popular wireless mobile broadband services.
More useful applications, devices, and content are needed to create value for consumers. And
the nation has failed to harness broadband’s power to transform delivery of government services,
health care, education, public safety, energy conservation, economic development, and other
national priorities.
America’s 2020 Broadband Vision
The Plan’s call for action over the next decade includes the following goals and
recommendations:
- Connect 100 million households to affordable 100-megabits-per-second service, building the world’s largest market of high-speed broadband users and ensuring that new jobs and businesses are created in America.
- Affordable access in every American community to ultra-high-speed broadband of at least 1 gigabit per second at anchor institutions such as schools, hospitals, and military installations so that America is hosting the experiments that produce tomorrow’s ideas and industries.
- Ensure that the United States is leading the world in mobile innovation by making 500 megahertz of spectrum newly available for licensed and unlicensed use.
- Move our adoption rates from roughly 65 percent to more than 90 percent and make sure that every child in America is digitally literate by the time he or she leaves high school.
- Bring affordable broadband to rural communities, schools, libraries, and vulnerable populations by transitioning existing Universal Service Fund support from yesterday’s analog technologies to tomorrow’s digital infrastructure.
- Promote competition across the broadband ecosystem by ensuring greater transparency, removing barriers to entry, and conducting market-based analysis with quality data on price, speed, and availability.
- Enhance the safety of the American people by providing every first responder with access to a nationwide, wireless, interoperable public safety network.
The Plan was mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009 and
produced by an FCC task force that set new precedents for government openness, transparency,
and rigor. Information for the plan was gathered in 36 public workshops, 9 field hearing, and 31
public notices that produced 75,000 pages of public comments. The debate went online with 131
blogposts that triggered 1,489 comments; 181 ideas on IdeaScale garnering 6,100 votes; 69,500
views on YouTube; and 335,000 Twitter followers. The task force augmented this voluminous
record with independent research and data-gathering.
About half of the Plan’s recommendations are addressed to the FCC, while the remainder are for
Congress, the Executive Branch, state and local government, working closely with the private
and nonprofit sectors.
Read the National Broadband Plan: http://download.broadband.gov/plan/nationalbroadband-
plan.pdf
An Online Support Team Is The Secret To Keeping Your New Year’s Resolution
Posted by: | CommentsMyMightyTeam.com is a new free site for getting support to keep your resolutions
NEW YORK, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ — In one corner, a piece of exercise equipment that soon became a clothes hanger. On a shelf, a pile of diet books. On a hard drive, the first few pages of a novel. Chances are your home or office contains these or other remnants from failed New Year’s resolutions. What will make the difference this year?
“The secret to sticking with a New Year’s Resolution is having the support of other people,” says Joan Greco, founder and CEO of My Mighty Team. “You’ve got to have a support team – people who know your plan, will cheer you on when you do it, and bug you when you don’t.”
MyMightyTeam.com is a new free online service for connecting you with a support team to help you make sure that this year you keep your New Year’s resolutions. On the site, you can easily and quickly invite friends, family or co-workers to join your team and help you make progress. If you prefer, you can use MIGHTY’s Teammate Finder to suggest like-minded people to work with.
Here's how My Mighty Team works:
-- First, declare your resolution and set a goal for the week or, even
better, for the day, such as getting to the gym; keeping a food diary;
starting a business plan; or writing the first chapter of your novel.
-- Second, do it!
-- Third, report back to your team before the deadline.
You can celebrate monthly milestones with your team, and rant about the challenges along the way. You can post evidence of your progress, whether it’s a photo of a slimmer self, or the first draft for a new business plan. The teams are private and invitation-only, so what’s shared with your team stays with your team. See more about how MIGHTY helps you Keep Your New Year’s Resolution.
My Mighty Team boasts communication tools that let you and your teammates blog, text, and get updates through email or cell phones. In addition to the private team pages, public pages on the most popular resolutions (such as “I Will Exercise More,” “I Will Quit Smoking,” “I Will Find a Job,” or “I Will Write”), rank top resources and let the larger MIGHTY community share tips and experiences.
My Mighty Team is the ultimate resource for helping people accomplish their goals and live their dreams. Use My Mighty Team’s free service to start a business, lose weight, quit smoking, write a novel – or achieve any other goal you can dream up. Founder Joan Greco dreamed up My Mighty Team after working on the most venerable small team in the nation: the United States Supreme Court. A graduate of Harvard Law School and an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Greco clerked for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
| Dr. Gary S. Goodman, top telemarketing speaker, customer service speaker, and President of Customersatisfaction.com focuses his Fortune 1000 consulting clients and sales seminar attendees on the little words and phrases that ruin sales presentations. |
PR Log (Press Release) – Jan 17, 2010 – Salespeople are legendary for getting in their own way. Many overtalk, leading to the creation of the so-called KISS method of selling, or Keep It Simple, Salesperson!
Others ask ultra-dumb and insensitive questions, such as the self-defeating real estate agent that asked the age of a mature buyer, to then inquire about her country of orgin, finshing with a query as to whether her two children “were adopted.”
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, top telemarketing speaker, customer service speaker, and President of Customersatisfaction.com, doesn’t care to discuss these miscues. Instead, as he puts it, “I have smaller fish to fry!”
Specifically, he focuses his Fortune 1000 consulting clients and telemarketing seminar attendees on the little words and phrases that ruin sales presentations. He says it pays off big-time to avoid using certain weak-at-the-knees, trembling, weasel words and phrases in your sales presentations.
These include: “I’d like to, ” “Perhaps,” “Possibly,” “Maybe,” and a huge loser: “Do you have a minute to talk?”
“If prospects say yes, they instantly regret it.” Also a kiss of death is this marvel: ” I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
Goodman offers several positive alternatives, including:
“What we’ll do is…”
“What we do…”
“What we’re doing is…”
“What I’ll do…”
“I’m sure you’ll find…”
“Definitely…”
“Certainly…” and
“This will just take a second…”
Use only the strongest, most affirmative language Goodman advises, or you’re practically begging for potential buyers to “Reject me now!”
He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com or at: (818) 970-GARY (4279).
Accountability
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Holding yourself accountable for your actions is the first step in recovering from any less than optimal situation. By knowing your part in each event that happens in your life, and by becoming aware of your choices that resulted in your experience, you will have the tools needed to reshape your future.
Honesty and Integrity is the foundation of accountability. You can live a life blaming others and continuing to be a victim of circumstance or you can become accountable and own your part in the events that have taken place in your life.
A very simple task that can help you identify your part is to inventory your experiences and resentments. Then acknowledge what those things affected in your life. After writing out the blame game you can now look at the list from a different perspective, and include what decisions you made in each of these events.
Most of us have, at one time or another, denied responsibility for circumstances in our lives. Many of us have gone on to believe the lies, and have even warped the truth to best fit our description of events in order to convince others – and ourselves – we were victimized, and it was not our fault.
It is sometimes necessary to clean the plate and move on. Give up the truth and own your part by being completely honest about a situation to those directly affected. When you take the time to correct past mistakes where you failed to be accountable you release the hold on you that comes with covering up the truth and continuing with the deceit.
Sometimes accountability is not just about the past. As we choose goals and desires for our future, setting intentions and holding ourselves accountable for the actions that must be taken to achieve those goals is vital to success. And it’s work. I believe adhering to the following principles helps us be accountable and, imminently, successful
- Assign yourself daily tasks.
- Don’t back out of your commitments.
- Consider logical consequences and be prepared.
- Model people with responsible behavior.
- Choose a person to help hold you accountable.
What makes someone a good decision maker?
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Risk vs. Rewards
Successful business leaders tend to be very observant and are exceptionally good at decision-making. Part of what makes them good at making the right decision quickly is their education and past experiences. A business-savvy executive acts fast, but not without clear intentions and strategic thought.
Your past experiences, direct and indirect, is the raw material you use to make smart, strategic decisions. For this reason, it is very important to be fully vested in all that you do, hear and see. Those who pay attention and “live in the present” tend to be better decision makers.
If you missed important information in a previous conversation or meeting, don’t try to work around it. Go to the source and ask questions. The ensuing conversation will not only fill in the missing data, but it may lead to other insights that would otherwise be missed. Invite an opinionated friend over to strategize. Plenty of great ideas come from thought-provoking conversations. Once you decide to take your idea to the next level, the strategies below can help you turn your idea into a successful venture:
- Self Confidence – having a confident demeanor will captivate your audience
- Conviction – believing in your message will influence others to do the same
- Education – knowing your subject matter as well as your competition’s products and services will give you an edge in business as well as the ability to answer pointed questions.
- Follow through – it is not enough just to make a sale. Follow through on your commitments and promises. Delivery and service after money has changed hands is key to a happy, and long-term, client.
Even the best decison makers occasionally have to change course midstream. Don’t be afraid to re-evaluate when new information is available. If there is too much to risk for the reward, then make the decision not to proceed. If you find you are unable to provide what you promised, partner with someone who can help and immediately provide a time frame to your clients. Having an unhappy client can set back your business and recovery can be very slow.
Health and Fitness
Posted by: | CommentsCome join me in getting in shape over the next six weeks. Monday I will be starting Valerie Waters Diamond Club and you can follow my progress with this amazing Fitness Coach at http://www.shelleeland.com
I believe that nothing in life is worth more than our own health and fitness and that is why I chose one of the best programs I know of to take me on the journey to getting fit in 2009.
When Life Throws You a Curve Ball
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Not all things are predictable, nor are we prepared for everything that arrives in our life. When thrown a curve ball in life it is important to gather the facts and consider your options before responding. Moving away from the emotional response is key to making a good decision when you have to deal with an unexpected circumstance.
When your life is in order, you are less likely to be thrown off balance by events out of your control. It is much easier to handle hurdles when you have been taking care of business along the way.
If you encounter a catastrophic event, having a close support system in place will be beneficial. Whether it be a personal or a professional setback, the right people and resources will give you strength when you are weakened.
The Curve Ball Notebook:
Keep a notebook handy with the all the important information in your life including the names and phone numbers of those you may need to contact in an emergency. Consolidating this information in one handy place will reducing the stress and time it takes to gather it in the midst of a crisis. No one wants to spend time looking for a phone or account number while they are emotionally distraught. Take time to organize important documents properly.
The key to surviving uncertainty is preparation and a strong social support network.
One small sacrifice may be all you need.
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Have you written intentions, focused on your goals, tried doing everything and you still have not had success? It may be just one small sacrifice standing in your way. Sometimes you have to give up one thing to get another.
For instance, if you want a clean house you can start getting rid of things you really don’t need anymore. If you want to get in shape, make it a priority to fit in a workout. Want to win that deal at work? Educate yourself on the competition. Want more energy? Stop eating foods that drag you down.
Your strategies for achieving your goal may just need a final tweak to fit in the energy and time it takes to make it happen.
What to sacrifice and when?
The choices we need to make for real change to happen in our lives are important. Think carefully about the options and choose your sacrifices with conviction. And be prepared to make them. Sometimes, those who want it all, crumble when they are unwilling to choose, and they can lose it all. If you want to build a strong foundation, making important sacrifices along the road will make your life rewarding and solid.
How do you know the time is right? When you ask yourself, “Is this worth it?,” you are on your way. Giving something up to make something happen is not easy, but may be necessary and it could be the smallest sacrifice that brings you the biggest rewards.
Quit Taking The Easy Way Out.
Posted by: | CommentsIf you know what your doing is wrong and you keep doing it you are crazy. Stop taking the easy way out and getting away with the wrong choices it will eventually catch up to you and the insanity of those decisions will destroy you.
Going the wrong way down the street may be the fastest way from one place to another but it doesn’t make it right or easy. Start making better decisions and doing things right. Just because you have not been caught doesn’t mean you won’t and what others think and catch you doing is just icing the internal problems with making wrong choices is causing the most damage even if it is not tangible.
Making better choices takes effort for some and practice. It is harder sometimes to do the right thing but in the end it is more rewarding.
Great Thinkers Choose the Best from the Worst
Posted by: | CommentsWe have choices in every thing we do. It is a qualification of a great thinker to be able to make the right choice in the situations they are faced with. It isn’t just luck but a matter of good reasoning which allows these people to scan the options and make the right choice.
There are several things you can do to improve your decision making process to ensure your choices are right for you.
First, get emotion out of the decision making process. If you angry or over excited give your self some time before making a choice. If you made a mistake and can not change the past decision get over it and move on. Going over and over the “what ifs” in your head will keep you in the problem and away from the recovery process and moving to a better decision to fix the issue.
Second, educate yourself and look into options and choices, never think there is one way to go or that the way someone else went is the way you have to do it.
Third, listen to you inner voice and trust your intuition. Most of your life experience is held within your subconscious honestly and the instinctive choice is most often the right one. Many times if you over think or take others opinions or outside influences into consideration you will regret your choice.
Fourth, always make the choice that you can live with. If you have conviction for your choice you won’t have a need to apologize for it later. Change is the motto of the year but you can’t elect someone who wants to make changes and sit back and watch.
Being a part of the change requires all of us to start making better choices and find the diamond in the rough throughout all of our decisions moving forward. Most people have the right answer within them and only reach out to others so they don’t have to take full responsibility for their choices if they are wrong. Stop trying to find a way out or defer to others and take your life and it’s path more seriously.
Making a good decision on your own is rewarding and empowering. Remember it is not always the shortest route to a decision that is correct sometimes the best route is a longer road.
