The pat down?

A couple of weeks ago when I was in Florida I was hearing about the new regulations at airports having to do with pat downs. It was my luck that I was the luck recipient of being pulled out of line and having this done to me.

Since, I have been hearing the horror stories of how bad this is and how intrusive it is. Well, I have to give my take on this. It is not that bad.

First of all, the agent doing the pat down was very professional. To begin with he notified me of exactly the procedure he was using. Step by step, there were no surprises. When he came to sensitive areas, he notified me that he would be using the back of his hands and showed the exact methods he would be using. He stopped and informed me at least 3 different times. And every time he let me know I had the choice to do it in a secluded area.

The whole time for this, about 1.5 minutes. My bags had just come out of the scanners and once I was done I grabbed my bags and went on my way.

Here is the thing. I usually travel with a tube of Carmex in my pocket. It is rather small. This is the first time that an agent identified something in my pocket. (I was simply ask to show it to the agent) Before, this had never been caught even in pat downs.

End of story is, I feel more secure and I am willing to submit myself to a (Simple) pat down to ensure security (For me and others) Do I feel like my rights have been violated? No, in what way? Has these new procedures gone beyond reasonable search? No!

Now, that 45 minute wait at 6am was a bit long.

One final Florida thought

I ended the week freezing. They had a high of 62 on Sat. That broke 50 year record as the lowest high temperature. I got to go home to highs in the 70's, go figure.

One thing that I am continuouosly looking for is identifying the value of events. I can count so many for my week in Florida.
New books to read
The speakers
Products that we need to research
So many new contacts with so much good information
My Peers
Presentation skills and working on those

These are just a small sampling. However the real key is executing on these once I get home. Making the list, setting goals and time lines then getting it done. The real hard work starts now.

Kansas Marketplace

Have a couple of presentations this week in Dodge City about developing business. I presented last year at Kansas Marketplace and was invited back. It is a great way to meet some businesses and keep my presentation skills up to date.

Last night I had a chance to have dinner with the Dodge Staff. It is always good to connect with them. I have not been down to Dodge as much as in the past.

Today the second presentation. Should be fun!

Where many do not see the light

I had to pull one statement from one of Arlin's posts titled "10 Things I accidently Learned"
That was "Sell is Not a Four Letter Word – Ok - actually it is, but for many years I missed the boat on this one. Nothing happens until someone sells something. We have to become a strong sales organization." More and more people associate sales as a bad thing. The reality is that sales done bad is a four letter word. To take that a step further, sales is usually done bad. You know, with all the tactics that are usually associated with "used car salesman"

HERE is one of my favorite all time examples.

Sure is dark out there

The last week the nights seem short. Dark when you get home, the boys want to go to bed (or at least start thinking about it) around 7:30. Sure is hard to get motivated. This is my least favorite time of year. Days are short, weather is gloomy. It takes a little extra to keep focused.

So I am taking this time to really get laser beam focused on the results. Are you?

The Taxi Cab ride

Had a good ride to my room next to the airport. (Get to have a little more sleep in the morning, however 5am is still early, yet time change gives me a little more sleep!)

Anyway, the Cabbie used to own 23 clothing stores in NY and was a very successful business man. However (In his words) did not keep a close eye on the bottom line and lost it all plus a significant amount.

The key he said was due to major clothing companies only selling to a select clothing stores or their outlets. They would no longer sell to him. By the time he realized the true impact of this to his business it was too late.

He as also a Real estate Agent here in FL. No sales THIS YEAR. So he needed steady income.

We also discussed how that worked. I was confused on a little, however the basic part was that he paid $200 a day to the company the the rest was his. He was explaining that he could only work certain areas and had mandatory lines that allowed other workers to get their share. Not true competition? So short trips would eat into his ability to make money. In other words a short trip to Disney would only make him $5-7 yet he would go to the end of the line.

Always interesting to get every one's story!