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A Time and a Place

People who know me well say that I’m disciplined, or structured, or ordered, or sometimes “Linear” (which is probably intended as an insult, but I like it!). And sometimes I’m frazzled. Things go well for me when I have a structure for them. And I like creating those structures.

The key for me (and probably there are others like me) is to:

  1. Know what I need to do
  2. Know when I need to do it
  3. And maybe the odd part, have a place to do it!

So many things just work well when all three happen. And then there are the things I struggle with. Reading for instance. I love to read. I love what I learn when I read. And yet, I rarely read. Big DUH! I don’t have a specific time and place for it. Just thinking through the problem, I can solve this. Maybe it’s more complicated, but only a little. Reading is a “by myself” activity, and I read best when I step away from the computer (even though I love to take notes on the computer as I read).

There’s a great coffee shop up the road. Suddenly I have all the pieces.

A time and a place. So simple. Just takes intentionality!

This image is for a different purpose but it fits pretty well:

Amazon Associate

AmazonAssociatesI have recently become an Amazon Associate. Favor request. If you are planning a purchase from Amazon, if you’ll start here, it will bless me and it won’t add to your cost. If you already purchase through another Amazon associate and you’re happy with that relationship, then please don’t change.

“Links may be monitized”

?Tony Dye is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.??

Flashback Friday: Hand Written Notes

This post originally written October 14, 2009. Chris Rivers of Culture Bus prompted the Flashback posting. Guess how?

Hand Written Notes

HandWritten Steve Leveen, Levenger’s co-founder, recently published an article on his blog about the value of hand written notes.? Actually, he referred to the rewards of writing your own handwritten notes.? An interesting read and something I’ve long agreed with, but haven’t practiced very well.? He sort of shot down most of my old excuses.

I had a very practical experience of receiving just such a note recently.? I’ve been visiting a church for a while, but not really doing anything more than sitting there and receiving.? I decided to step that up a notch by sending a check (a very small check, by the way) to the church.? It was an electronic check,?mailed to them.

A brief digression: quite a few of the people at this church kinda/sorta know me, but they just know me as “Tony.”? Probably very few know my last name.? Of course, Tony isn’t my real name, it’s just what I go by.? So, when the check arrived at the church (with no note from me, of course), it was from Harold A. Dye, Jr.? The person processing the check?might have figured out Tony Dye, but for sure didn’t figure out my real name.? (no fault on her part, of course)

So, back to the story.? This church, or this person in particular, took the “above and beyond” action.? She wrote me a very nice short note, personally thanking me.? Receiving that note absolutely made my day.? Since she didn’t know who I was, that actually added meaning.? I think she does this for EVERY gift received from anyone who’s not a member or regular attender!

That would be a good place to end this story, but there’s actually one more detail worth mentioning.? This sweet person who volunteers to handle the contributions is also a busy, high-level, executive with a local manufacturing firm.? If she’s not too busy to hand write a note, well, that doesn’t leave much excuse, does it?

Thanks so much for the hand written?thank you note!

A Few Things I Like about ClickHost

ClickHOST Web Hosting

ClickHOST Web Hosting

My blog is hosted by ClickHOST. I’m very happy with that decision. Here are just a few of the things I like about ClickHOST:

  • Quality of what they do
  • Like the company ownership (Hi Carel)
  • Great service when I need it (which is rarely)
  • Unlike another well known company, I don’t feel the need to wash my hands after every interaction
  • I’ve seen something go wrong and how they respond! Let’s just say I was favorably impressed
  • They know how to connect with great partners for site development and such
  • When they can offer special pricing, they do!
If you are looking for a host, please consider them. Will you do me a favor? Click here to start. It may save you a bit (note the promo code above), and it builds a little credit for me.

Creator or Improver

Are you a creative-type? Do you constantly dream up new ideas, ways to make the world better, or do you create works of art, music, or literature? Or, are you an improver-type, somebody who sees something that already exists and chooses to make it a little better?
Nothing says these two have to be exclusive of each other.

There’s room for each! If you’re not a creative, see if maybe you’re an incrementalist — helping to improve things, one small step at a time.