New Look! New Blogs!

I am thrilled to announce a change in my blog. (Can't you see my thrill by the picture on the left)

First, you will notice the new look. We wanted to update it and make it more exciting. Also, since this blog is about achieving goals, I introduced a subliminal suggestion in the background--picture goals. The background picture will change regularly to different places that people like to go. I love Hawaii. I visited Hawaii six times--and someone else paid the price each time. We shared how to do that in our blog on February 13, 2010.

Second, we are please to announce that Larry Stevenson now offers three blogs for your inspection.

Larry on Careers will examine the goal of improving your career. It will focus on selecting the right career, finding a job, gaining new skills, and receiving bigger raises and better promotions. We will post it on Fridays. We hope you will follow it also.

Larry on Business will explore the goal of growing your business. It will focus on business planning, sales and marketing, accounting and finance, legal, human resource management, exit strategies and more. We will post in Wednesdays. We hope you small- and home-based business owners will enjoy it.

GoalsGuyLarry will continue to explore personal and family goals. We will focus more on vacations, purchases, personal development, marital communications, and such. We will post it only once a month on the last Friday of each month. We hope everyone who wants to improve their lives and families will continue to enjoy it.

So, each week we will explore how to achieve career, business, and family goals. Choose one or all three to follow. Also, please invite your friends to follow also.

Lessons Dad Taught Me

My dad turns 81 tomorrow. He still swims 3+ miles a day. He still inspires me.

Dad, together with my mom, molded my character. He instilled a strong work ethic, creativity, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. He shared nuggets of wisdom through phrases he repeated throughout his life. Not all the nuggets originated with him, but they shaped his (and now my) life.

I would like to share a few with you. I hope you find them as helpful as I have.

"Man is that he might have joy" gave me purpose. I seek joy, not mere transitory happiness, in every aspect of life. I recognize that the trials and tribulations in life help me appreciate the joy more.

"He that does not learn from the past is doomed to repeat it" guided me to evaluate my efforts and the efforts of others to learn how to do it better next time. I avoid many pitfalls by observing how others fell into them or avoided them.

"He that must be compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise steward" instilled initiative. I do not wait to think, to ponder, or to act. I observe, analyze, and act within my stewardship to try and do the best I can.

"The guilty man fleeth when no man pursueth" encouraged me to act honorably, to keep my conscience clear, and to beware of people who "protest too much".

My dad gave me a wonderful inheritance. His principles, learned through repetition and example, inspire me to be a better person, a better husband and father, and a better professional. I hope my sharing them once helps you as much.

Happy Birthday, Dad...and thanks