Being Bruce -: August 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

We weren't out of control - just crazy in love


This is the earliest photo I have of Marge and I. This must have been a month or so after we met because I sold the bike to pay for her engagement ring.

That bike was the one we had our first date on, a blind date in late April 1970. We were engaged 13 days later and married on August 29th, 1970.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Mango Furniture Unlimited Is Having a Grand Opening and You Really Ought to Plan On Attending

Without a doubt the yummiest place to be on the west side of the Cape Fear Rive next Wednesday late afternoon will be at Mango Furniture Unlimited. Partners Pia Hackley and Bob Bethel are having a grand opening at their Leland, NC furniture and design store and you don't want to miss it.

First of all, do you like mango? If you're not sure, here's what they look like:


Pia, who we know is an over-the-top incredible cook from the great dishes she served at Mango's ribbon-cutting a few weeks ago, is busy preparing an all-mango menu.

Check it out from a list I was able to get from Bob this afternoon:

  • Shrimp/mango lettuce wraps with green curry mango sauce
  • Jerked pork tenderloins with mango salso
  • Mango bread
  • Mango pineapple pudding
  • Mango line cream pie
  • Mango martinis
  • Mango ice tea
Sound good? You can bet it will be.





That's Bob below behind the counter in the back of the huge furniture store. Wandering around is a lot of fun and you'll for sure see a lot to like.





If you can't wait, you can find out more about the store at the Mango Furniture Unlimited web site. Otherwise, we'll see you there next Wednesday!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Being Bruce at the Wheel - Kick Butt Videos

I'm trying something new and seeking reactions. I have mixed feelings about the videos I made yesterday, sort of as an experiment.



I am sincere in the messages in these two "Kick Butt" videos, but wonder if the fact that I make them in a moving vehicle will distract and spoil the message. I also wonder what you think about the language (it's G-rated, that's not the issue).

The first one is called "Playing Full Out"




The second is titled "Who Are You Kidding?"



Comments directly on the blog post or emailed to Bruce@QuantumResultsCoaching.com are appreciated. Thanks in advance, Bruce

Sunday, August 8, 2010

My Adventure with Dancing with the Brunswick Stars - Journal Entry 20 - The Big Night

The big night, finally, after months of practice, Kim and I were ready for Dancing With the Brunswick Stars.


Before the lights came up, we were ready under our umbrellas.



In the routine









Hearing the judges comments.







The final lineup.



The best video we have so far, but stay tuned for a clip from the professional video when I get a copy.

My Adventure with Dancing with the Brunswick Stars - Journal Entry 19 - Dress Rehearsal

On the morning of August 5th Kimberly and I  practiced (out of costume) for the first time on the actual stage that was constructed at the Dinah E. Gore Aquatic and Fitness Center on the campus of Brunswick Community College. We were concerned about the floor size and surface due to our combination of tap dancing (slipping) and tumbling (room available so I wouldn't throw her off stage when she did the walkover in our routine).

Here's the stage we saw. Clearly they were going to great lengths to make the place  look elegant and in keeping with the Hollywood theme.


This video, made the morning of the dress rehearsal, has almost our final choreography. It turned out that during the actual dress rehearsal that evening one of the tumbling moves just wasn't working right and there was too high a possibility of a fall, so we took it out the next day (Kim did). However, in this video you see what we originally intended (the first tumbling move is the one later removed).



Below Kimberly is seated during the dress rehearsal Thursday evening. This is, indeed, the costume she wore during the competition.

My Adventure with Dancing with the Brunswick Stars - Journal Entry 17 - Our Fourteenth Practice

On July 23rd we practiced for the last time at Brunswick School of Dance.

We tried out what were intended to be our 'game day' costumes.

Below is the costume Kimberly ordered constructed for Dancing with the Brunswick Stars, though at a later date she changed her mind about it.


This video shows the near final choreography. Part of it is unfortunately off-camera, but most of what's here was in our final dance.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

My Adventure with Dancing with the Brunswick Stars - Journal Entry 18 - A Tale of Four Costumes

With a nod to Mel Brooks, "A funny thing happened on the way to the competition."

My wonderful pro partner for Dancing With the Brunswick Stars, did, in the end, wear just one costume during our dance routine.

There were some questions and choices along the way.

Before I post the videos of the dress rehearsal and final competition, see if you can figure out which was the actual costume she wore.








I'm not going to ask which you like best, because they're all nice, but the variety is interesting.

Oh, and I'm only showing myself in one costume, which is indeed what I wore.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

How To Get The Job You Want - Guerilla Style for Extraordinary Life Seekers

Two friends, let's call them 'Angela' and 'Sarah', recently inquired about how to find a job. One asked about any job, the other asked about unadvertised jobs.

For serious job searchers (which as someone who has been self-employed since 1982 I find slightly oxymoronic), here is my best answer for anyone who wants to live an extraordinary life but also wants a J.O.B.

OK, Sarah and Angela, so if you want to "go guerilla" about this job search thing, here's what you do, seriously.

1. Decide exactly where you want to work and who you want to work for. Pick just one - and in the picking be sure that they can somehow find the resources to hire you. (This is THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP.)

2. Do the research to discover their (#1's) greatest challenge, problem, or opportunity.

3. Find out, figure out, conjure, or create an amazing solution for #2 above.

4. Spend the time to check, crosscheck, and develop #3

5. Determine who is the major decision maker in the company.

6. Determine the most effective way to communicate with #5.

7. Put #6 into action with #5 (or, stated more simply(?) use the most effective way (#6) to let the major decision maker (#5)  know that you have a plan (#3) to provide an amazing solution/opportunity (#2) for the company (#1) and that YOU are the absolute best person to
  • A. carry out the plan (#3) or 
  • B. get paid for coming up with the plan (#3) and get hired to provide other solutions (#3's) for other challenges, problems, or opportunities (#2's).

Major point - your #3 above must be unique and original, not a generic solution that just anyone can do the first time. It needn't be rocket science or a work of art, but something that will make the major decision maker (#5) say, "Wow, I should have thought of that! That's perfect!"

Simple right?

And if it doesn't work - as in you don't get the job/assignment, you missed either on your research of #1 or your #3 requires some tweaking. Do the research or tweaking and then go find their #1's biggest competitor and go see them.

Repeat till successful, with 3-5 companies.

(And if the above doesn't work, write an article for their trade publication explaining the missed opportunity - without naming names if you still want a job, but do name names (with full documentation in hand) if you want to work as a consultant)).

At this point, if you still think you want a job and haven't been offered one, start again, doing a better job with step #1.

With love and respect,

Bruce

Copyright, Bruce Brown, Quantum Results Coaching,  2010