midlifejourney.com

This afternoon I am off to a business networking event on the golf course. 18 holes, followed by a business after hours event. Should be fun.

Networking should always be fun. The focus on promoting your business in the most subtle of ways.

Rule #1: You never bring up business on the course itself, at least not directly. Subtlety is key. You can mention the work you do if it comes up in conversation, but you don’t start listing all the projects you are working on, unless it’s relevant to the conversation. In fact, focus on the other person’s interests, find out what they are about, what they do, who they might know. And be quiet, for heaven’s sake if it seems your golf partner would rather not talk. Some golfers prefer silence to banter. And there is nothing worse on the golf course than a babbler.

Rule #2: Once the game is done, networking can begin. A celebratory drink, or a few minutes in the club house can be an opportunity to share business information and leads. But remember, focus on the other fellow. See how you might be able to solve his or her needs, not your own… and by so doing, you accomplish both.

Here in the northeast of the U.S. it’s that time of year again, when winter white skin meets the sun again for the first time in months. I have fair skin and it takes me no time to burn. When I was a kid I used to slather myself with Baby Oil hoping for a quick and beautiful tan. Now, years later, my skin reveals the results of my foolhardy attempts at summer beauty.

Here are some tips to consider as we move into the summer season… (Thanks to my blogcatalog contact: Lulubelle- her blog is http://lulu-haiku.blogspot.com)

Early Detection Saves Lives

GOT SKIN? LEARN THESE FACTS

• Melanoma is serious and lethal
• In the U.S. one person dies from melanoma every hour
• People of all skin tones can develop melanoma
• If you’ve got skin there, you can get melanoma there

PROTECT YOURSELF & YOUR FAMILY

• Do not burn – Do not tan
• Use sunscreen – the more the better
• Wear protective clothing including hats with wide brims
• Avoid strong sunlight, especially 10am-3pm

SEE YOUR DOCTOR FOR A SKIN CANCER SCREENING ONCE A YEAR
Report suspicious moles or skin changes immediately

Need more info?
www.melanomaresource.org
www.cancer.org/docroot/lrn/lrn_0.asp
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/melanoma
www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/default.htm

MIdlifers still remember World War II. Not personally, but through a grandparent, or parent. We hear stories, watch documentaries, listen to the music of the war years… Unless you’ve been there yourself, you can only imagine what it was really like.

My Dad was a WWII veteran who signed up in early February, 1942. He told us the story of how he went down to the recruiting office to check things out. He knew he wanted to sign up and was there to ask a few questions. There were two lines. One green, one red. He chose the green line, and before he knew it, had volunteered for the Army Air Corps. Within hours he was on a bus to Fort Devens and on his way to war. He didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to his best girl, so eager was the corps to get the troops on their way to the battlefront.

He trained as a techie, repairing plane engines. He was sent to the North Africa front and stayed there for most of the war, fixing bullet riddled planes. “Keep ‘em Flying” was his motto, and somehow, he and his crew did just that. He never spoke of his nitty gritty days and nights in the trenches. There were details he just didn’t want to share. But it changed his life. An easy going guy of 26 became a tough minded man of 31.

War changes everything. For everyone. Remember that.

Milestones in life happen once in a while. They are markers on our journey: a birth, a death, a wedding, a divorce, new job, retirement… we all have them, and in midlife they seem to happen all the time. Everytime I turn around someone is hitting a milestone, or their children are, or their parents.

How do you celebrate the milestones in your life? How do you mark this significant moment? Alone? or with friends? Do you spend a lot of money to show how important the milestone is? (Throw a big party, buy a monstrous gift, take a long vacation?, send the biggest floral arrangement?) Or are you the type to lo-key these events… send a card, call on the phone, do not much of anything?

I remember when my parents finally paid off the mortgage on their house we had a “burning” event. Wasn’t really a party, just a few of us in the backyard setting the documents on fire. Small but meaningful. And memorable.

How do you celebrate those meaningful moments?

Today, all around the globe, bloggers are uniting to bring awareness to the issue of HUMAN RIGHTS. When I hear reports of the tragedies happening today in the middle east, Darfur, Malaysia, China, GitMo, I get to a point where I just have to turn it all off. What can I do? One person, sitting at my computer, just trying to keep my own head above water.

Perhaps today is one day when I become more aware, and remind you, reader, to do the same. I don’t have the power to change what’s happening in Baghdad… but I can do what I can to treat the driver in the next car with more respect, the woman in the checkout line who is taking forever to sign her check, with a little more patience… and the little bird on the back porch with reverence.

Echoes of kindness circulate the planet. Send out the vibration and it has far reaching effects.