http://www.visualcapitalist.com/12-ways-smarter-mental-models/
http://www.visualcapitalist.com/12-ways-smarter-mental-models/
great quick overview about the challenges of growing
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/steps-scaling-your-business/
great pic from last nights Rotary Christmas Ham packing workshop.
came across this site today from one of my realtors in my network
figure will store some real estate info on this posting as a resource
Enjoy
By Richard Millington on Dec 11, 2018 07:30 am
The moment you get defensive, take insults personally or react badly to criticism you’ve lost the chance of building a positive relationship with that member (and other members who see your response).
Every interaction is a great opportunity to build a stronger relationship, deepen mutual understanding, and find better solutions to community problems.
You shut down those possibilities when you try to defend your own reputation instead of making the other member feel great.
Defensive responses are selfish responses.
The great irony is the best way to improve your reputation is to ignore the personal insults against you and focus on helping other members solve their problems, feel understood, and more appreciated.
Came across this article this morning in LinkedIn, I think it is worth a little study. What would be said? Good question. - TLR
Need career help? Start writing your own eulogy. When we imagine our own deaths, and even write drafts of the way we’d like to be remembered, we can examine our priorities and goals from a broader perspective. Executive coach Daniel Harkavy encouragesthe CEOs he works with to draft two eulogies: the one that would be read today, and another that encompasses all of their future achievements. Comparing the two can help you reevaluate how you are spending your time and the decisions you are making. • Here’s what people are saying.
here is the article
”In that 2005 Stanford commencement address where Jobs talked about the importance of realizing you are going to die, he also stated that, upon reflecting on his success, he realized “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.”
Yet with the eulogy technique, now maybe you don’t have to wait until the end of your life to connect the dots. By changing your point of view and shifting your perspective from your present to your future, you’ll be able to see where you want to end up, and then know what steps you’ll next to take–what dots you’ll need to connect–to get there.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5SMyfbWYyE&list=PLhhVyaUmOQupT95UiO_74c0-wATcRxceV
Music with a warrior’s beat
there is a place for us
One Step At A Time!
”Be The Adventure”
52 Hike Challenge Documentary Kickstarter Video from Sea to Summit Productions on Vimeo.
52 Hike Challenge Documentary Teaser from Sea to Summit Productions on Vimeo.
great idea !
My personal aha thought, awesome idea guys! There is a guy in South Africa doing this with food , going to farmers and filming production, finish with a meal. I invited him to Canada to do a tour coast to coast, nothing came of it. Just brain storming and typing s it flows, Be cool if we could get a corporate sponsor to do this for you in the future, I am moving my business to a new company Peak Financial, they are coast to coast, I've climbed with some very amazing people. Tie in a food champion, save some bucks feeding you, expand the challenge, make some new friends "Be The Adventure" I'll supply the "Natures Energy Water" let's follow through with this over the next year as we get settled
I got this really interesting story this morning from the purveyors at Hustle, it is long, interesting, cool and worth sharing. Enjoy.Timothy Ross
How one man built The Sharper Image into the world's wackiest gadget storeIt took a marketing genius to build the kingdom of flashy gadgets — and a $229 air purifier to take it all down. |
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The Sharper Image was a kingdom. It was a kingdom where you could, in an afternoon trip to the mall, purchase an electric nose trimmer ($39), a motorized surfboard ($2,450), and a bulletproof raincoat ($400), then take a ride in a $1,500 massage chair while being serenaded by a bird-calling robot. It was a kingdom once described as the “breast implant” of retail, a place where man and child alike could bask in the artificial glow of flagrant consumerism. This is the story of the man who founded this great kingdom — and how one flashy gadget ultimately led to its downfall. King Richard IRichard Thalheimer had all the trappings of a world-class salesman. Born in 1948 in Little Rock, Arkansas, he spent his youth working odd-jobs in the toy section of his father’s department store. He went on to study psychology and sociology at Yale University, where — during his freshman year — he sold enough encyclopædias to buy a brand new Porsche. In his early 20s, Thalheimer ventured to San Francisco and started a wholesale business that catered to the then-burgeoning photocopier industry. “I named it The Sharper Image,” he says, “because I thought that my paper and toner would help people make good copies.” |
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Left: A young Richard Thalheimer poses for a yearbook photo; Right: In the early days of The Sharper Image (via SF Examiner) |
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While running The Sharper Image, Thalheimer enrolled at Hastings Law School — but making physical deliveries to businesses in the Financial District every afternoon between classes began to take its toll. “I was completely taxed,” he says. “So I thought, ‘Why don’t I try mail-order?” The million-dollar running watchThe mail-order catalogue — a publication that lists products and allows customers to order them remotely via mail or telephone — had been around for a century. As early as the 1880s, Tiffany’s and Sears were hawking their wares in 300-page booklets. But in the 1970s, the mail-order industry was having a renaissance moment: Roger Horchow had just launched the first luxury color catalogue without a physical retail location, and Joe Sugarman was running the first-ever mail-order magazine ads — beautiful, full-page photos with poetic product descriptions. Thalheimer wanted to try his hand at it. But first, he needed a product. At the time, Seiko had just rolled out a first-of-its-kind fully digital watch — but at $300, most runners couldn’t afford it. Coincidentally, Thalheimer came across a small booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where a man was selling a “very similar” product for $35 wholesale. He struck a deal with the vendor and bought out a full-page ad in Runner’s World Magazine, offering the watch for $69. For the copy, he chose to feature his friend, Walt Stack — a “legendary, fully-tattooed 70-year-old” who was known around San Francisco for his crazy daily routine, which included a 17-mile run across the Golden Gate Bridge. |
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Left: Walt Stack on his daily 17-mile-run in the ‘80s (Eric Risberg/AP); Right: Thalheimer’s first Sharper Image ad, for the Realtime watch, starring Stack (Courtesy of Richard Thalheimer) |
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At a cost of $1k, the ad netted Thalheimer $10k in sales (about $5k of which was profit). He repeated this process — each time, with better results — and by the age of 27, he’d made his first million dollars. By 1979, Thalheimer’s system of advertising was so successful that he decided to launch his own catalogue high-tech gadgets nobody knew they needed. The Sharper Image catalogueThalheimer embarked on a quest to find the most unique products on the market — things that “other people didn’t sell.” “At the Consumer Electronics Show, everyone would gravitate toward the big guys, Sony, Panasonic,” he says. “I’d go straight for the little booths, the people selling things nobody had ever heard of.” The first catalogue contained 25 items, including the first cordless phone, answering machine, and car radar detector. He avoided superfluous adjectives in his copy, and focused on the features that made the products exceptional. Very quickly, his experiment began minting money: The first year, sales topped $500k; the second year, they reached $3m; by 1980, $12m. Soon, the catalogue was being sent to 3m people around the world, at a cost of $1.4m per mailing. He catered specifically to the 20% of Americans who had credit cards, and offered them a 1-800 number to place orders over the phone. In a small San Francisco office, with a staff of 5 or 6 people, a dozen orders were processed every 60 seconds. |
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The Sharper Image catalogue featured products like the Snore-No-More ($59) — a device that shocked snorers with an electric pulse (via Flickr user Mike Mozart) |
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The Sharper Image struck at the right time. In the 1980s stock boom, flashy gadgets and conspicuous consumption were in. “He who dies with the most toys wins” was the ethos of the decade. Thalheimer expanded into physical retail, opening stores in well-to-do enclaves across America. In New York, bankers dipped in to peruse $1500 massage chairs; in Hawaii, tourists fawned over electric nose hair trimmers and talking scales. By 1985, The Sharper Image was grossing $100m in sales — with no outside capital or debt. At the company’s helm, Thalheimer was what the New Yorker described as the “very model of a major entrepreneur:” Tanned and muscular, deliberate and tenacious, and infallibly gifted at curating ridiculously niche gadgets, like a mini electric fan on a necklace (priced at $49, it sold 10k units a month). “I can see the future,” he toldan LA Times reporter in 1984, “I know when a trend is coming and when it’s leaving.” In an AP interview, he hailed himself as a “marketing genius.” Nobody could disagree. When The Sharper Image IPO’d at $10 per share in 1987, the chain, and its outspoken CEO, seemed incapable of failure. That is, until the ‘80s ended. Do I really need that gadget?In the early ‘90s, the economy weakened and sparked a recession: Suddenly, conspicuous consumption was out and frugal environmentalism was in. The Sharper Image tried to switch gears by selling more “socially responsible” products (like Birkenstocks, vitamin energizers, and benches made of recycled plastic), but the strategy had a limited effect. Between 1989 and 1991, sales fell by 28%. Staff was was cut by 20%. Stock tumbled to $2. And for the first time in company history, The Sharper Image posted a loss. |
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The Sharper Image saw a dramatic decline in the early ‘90s (The Hustle) |
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“The Sharper Image has become a cliche for the worst excesses of the last decade — the Donald Trump of specialty retailing,” wrote the SF Examiner. “Nobody needs what they sell.” For a CEO of a publicly-traded company, Thalheimer was unusually involved in minute decisions: His penchant for controlling what color clothes employees could wear, how they decorated their desks, and what type of coffee mugs they used earned him a citation in California Magazine’s 1988 Worst Bosses in America list. So, he decided to step back from day-to-day operations and go back to his roots: Finding wacky, one-of-a-kind products. It didn’t take long. At a “hippie street fair” in San Francisco, Thalheimer stumbled across a blue gel shoe insert — the first of its kind. “I stood up in front of all my deflated employees, pulled this thing out of my suit pocket, and said, ‘This is going to turn us around,’” he recalls. “Everyone thought I was nuts.” At $19.99 a pair, the inserts went on to become the company’s best-selling product, selling hundreds of units a day and adding 50% to their sales figures. Several years later, in 2000, Thalheimer came across another game-changing product at a toy fair in Hong Kong: The Razor scooter. He negotiated an exclusive 24-month deal and sold a million of them in the first year. It was, he says, “a second lease on life” for the company. |
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Razor scooters revitalized The Sharper Image, but raised new concerns (via the AP) |
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Bolstered by the rise of the internet and online sales, the Razor led The Sharper Image to the best performance in its 23-year history. It was no longer just a place for “tech-loving snobs” to buy elitist gadgets. But this success came with a looming concern: The Sharper Image was turning into what analysts described as “a one-product company.” The air purifier that killed the companyThalheimer had long operated by finding intriguing products elsewhere, signing exclusive distribution deals, and selling them under The Sharper Image brand name. But he knew that if it designed and patented his own products, margins could be higher. In a secret location north of San Francisco, Thalheimer assembled a team of engineers and designers and formed Sharper Image Design to make gadgets in-house. “[It was a place] where where the inner child could come out in every man, with gizmos blinking and whirling,” later recalled an employee. “The only thing missing were white coats and propeller hats.” The team churned out some 300 patents and 100 products, ranging from fogless mirrors to anti-snoring wristbands that jolted the offender with an electric shock. But the crown jewel of the operation was a noiseless air purifier called the Ionic Breeze. |
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Ads for the the Ionic Breeze (via The Hartford Courant, 1999) |
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The Sharper Image put all of its resources behind the machine, taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of magazine, newspaper and TV ads. Despite its $229 price tag, it became a smash hit. By the turn of the millenium, the Ionic Breeze was so popular that it made up 45% of all of the chain’s sales. And as it turned out, this was a huge problem. In 2002, Consumer Reports(a nonprofit product review publication) ranked the Ionic Breeze dead last in a feature on air purifiers, deeming it “ineffective.” Thalheimer was furious, and filed a lawsuit against the magazine, claiming it had “negligently disparag[ed] the product.” It was tossed out, and cost Thalheimer $525k in legal fees. “We did a very stupid thing by making a big stink out of it,” cedes Thalheimer. “It was like suing Jesus Christ...it infuriated them, and just led to more trouble.” Three years later, Consumer Reports struck again — this time alleging that the Ionic Breeze didn’t just suck at purifying air, but actually emitted harmful amounts of ozone. Once again, Thalheimer took them to court and lost. The blowback cost The Sharper Image millions of dollars in store credits and refunds — and soon, stockholders began to question Thalheimer’s magic touch. Held at KnightspointIn the Spring of 2006, a group of outside shareholders by the name of Knightspoint Partners snapped up 13% of the company. Led by famed corporate raider Jerry Levin, the group demanded a shakeup of the board. At first, it seemed they genuinely wanted to help Thalheimer guide The Sharper Image back on track, but it soon became clear that they were gunning to oust him and remodel the company in their own image. |
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The Sharper Image’s “new image” included some poor decisions, like featuring Trump Steaks on the cover of a catalogue; meat packages started at $1k (The Hustle) |
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In September, Thalheimer was fired and forced to sell all of his remaining shares for a sum of $26m — a fraction of what his holdings were once worth. When he came into work the next day to gather his belongings, the door was locked. His desk, still covered with the wacky emblems of his career, his now occupied by Jerry Levin. Knightspoint set to work recrafting The Sharper Image into a general electronic retailer, like Circuit City or Best Buy. Or, in Thalheimer’s estimation, “stripping away the imagination.” By 2008, stock had plummeted to 28 cents per share. Within a year, The Sharper Declared bankruptcy, closed down all 183 stores, and laid of 4k employees. The company, now run by an investor group, continues to exist online — but it’s a shadow of its former self. The weird gadgets have been usurped by USB drives and motion-activated light bulbs — and Thalheimer’s oddball charm is nowhere to be seen. Richard SoloLooking back, Thalheimer doesn’t harbor much ill-will. He runs his own gadget site, aptly named RichardSolo.com, and has taken up investing. “My days are a lot more enjoyable,” he says. “It’s not as egocentric as being the head of my own company. But at this point, I’d rather be alone.” He tells The Hustle that his net worth is “3-4x higher” than when he got pushed out, and that his studies of the stock market have earned him beefy returns of between 50% and 100% per year. |
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Thalheimer poses with a favorite from The Sharper Image catalogue (via Richard Thalheimer) |
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But Thalheimer hasn’t completely abandoned the kingdom. At his Marin County mansion stands a lavishly-adorned suit of armor — a $2,450 relic from The Sharper Image catalogue. An old cordless telephone dangles from its ear. It is a sight that can only be described as perfectly Thalheimerian: A blend of the old and the new, the eclectic and the cutting-edge, the blunt and the sharp. |
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Meet the Finnish entrepreneur on a mission to spread the gospel of ‘shroomsGrowing up on his family’s farm, Tero Isokauppila spent his free time like most Finnish kids… foraging for fresh mushrooms. After graduating from college, this funguy (get it?) realized he wasn’t made for a cubicle -- no, he was made to share the benefits of 'shrooms with the world. With that, Four Sigmatic was born. Today, Tero’s company distills the superfood benefits of mushrooms into simple, sippable drink mixes. ‘Shrooms to help you relax, energize, focus, beautify, and moreFour Sigmatic’s mushroom-based drinks take the extracted fruiting bodies of fungi (AKA the best part) and pair them with crazy-nutritious plants like turmeric, ginger, and tulsi. Dissolve them instantly in hot water and what do you get? Mixes that can help support immune function, gut health, glowing skin, or even give you a caffeine-free energy kickstart -- with no mushroom flavor. Like lattes? Mad for matcha? They’ve got it all. Plus, with a 20% discount for Hustle readers, they’re really not funging around. |
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Shop #onshrooms → | |||||||
Weekend RecapMiss an email this week? Here’s a rundown of our top headlines from the past 7 days: 1. WORDPLAY OF THE WEEK: You smoke, bud?Canadians once again prove they’re chill after the country officially made weed legal for all uses on Wednesday, but some industry experts believe the share prices have gotten too highhhhhhhhhhhhhh, man. What a buzzkill. 2. OUR FAVORITE: The Palm Pilot is back -- but more useless than everAll was a buzz as the Palm Pilot brand announced its new “ultra-mobile” Palm phone that is smaller than a regular cell phone and aims to eliminate digital distractions -- only problem is it has pretty much all of the same features as normal cell phones. 3. ‘TODAY I LEARNED’: That if a concert sells out, it usually means ticket prices were too cheapAs ticket scalpers and resell sites continue to run rampant on the industry-wide ticket inflation problem, Taylor Swift and her team concocted a strategy to help combat the issue… and so far, it’s working. 4. OLD DOG, NEW TRICKS: The ‘Real World’ returns... on Facebook?The world’s first hit reality show announced it is coming back to a cell phone screen near you. The old format will come with some new interactive surprises, and air on Facebook’s new premium content platform, Facebook Watch. 5. TECH TROUBLES: Lime tried to sue San Francisco for getting snubbed on scooter permitsAfter being denied the highly anticipated San Francisco scooter permit, Lime filed for a temporary restraining against the city, in hopes that it would delay scooter releases for the 2 companies that did receive permits. |
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Now, back to the corn field
Yesterday was a full day. I was in the field shortly after 8 getting setup. Robert Dentz and Bill lifted some more rows, they had done a number the afternoon before. People started driving in after 9. We were out of the field by 5. I headed to Prescott Food For All Food Bank with Megan with our final load, came back, cleared the field of pails and hauled the second trailer back for unloading of the pails tomorrow wrapped up just after 7, will get them back into storage and be ready for the next adventure tomorrow. We gathered over 18,000 pounds of potatoes and squash for local food banks and feeding organizations in our community of Brockville and Prescott. There had to be over 50 volunters assist throughout the day, maybe more.
Greg Houldcroft , Executive Director of Cross Town Impact stepped up another year to help get the word out and inspire youth and families to journey to the fields. This event started over 9 years ago when I coordinated with Highway Pentecostal Church to help glean the fields, that would put it around 2010.
Looking back at some old notes , we often stretched this into the colder months
From: advisor@timothyross.com
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2013 3:08 PM
To: Leigh Bursey Cc: Rodger McCabe Subject: Re: ummmm.
Hi Rodger and Leigh, I did a site inspection this afternoon and met with the Dents, there is not enough left to make it viable to do anymore harvesting, what is left will remain for personal consumption and perhaps some secret weapon chips :) Interesting the Kale that is still left is in good shape considering the recent weather, very impressive cole crop.
Thanks for your help and interest, Together We Did Some Great Good, thanks again . Over 4 Thousand Tons of food. Tim
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
From: advisor@timothyross.com
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2013 4:41 AM
To: Leigh Bursey Cc: Rodger McCabe Subject: Re: ummmm.
That year Leigh had a car accident on the Sunday before this email. I missed seeing Leigh this year, however he was out for a bit in the morning and picked a few pails that added to the effort.
We had a beautiful day and were blessed with a great day and effort. The passing of the rain clouds was huge answer to prayer, early that morning it did rain a bit, fortunately not enough to stop the process. It had been wet leading up to the harvest, Thursday morning it ws hopeful that things would turn around as we would not be able to get on the fields on Saturday if it did not. Fortunatly Thursday and Friday the wind picked up and the sun came out to help allow the fields to get dryed out enough so Robert could dig the potatoes and then the volunteers pick and bag them .
There is lots of pictures on facebook, this link should take you there.
https://www.facebook.com/omegastewardship/media_set?set=a.10155511473375563&type=3
Greg has album at
There is also some video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ8Ci_E95Ns&index=2&list=PLhhVyaUmOQur0rWarodS7R-IZ83neSIGv&t=0s
Event Page yr 2018
https://www.facebook.com/events/252158168820736/
Event Page Year 2017
https://www.facebook.com/events/136567547086454/
Event Year 2016
https://www.facebook.com/events/546632402194822/
Event Year 2015
https://www.facebook.com/greg.houldcroft/media_set?set=a.10154776959060282&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/omegastewardship/media_set?set=a.10153026923140563&type=3&hc_location=ufi
https://www.instagram.com/p/8aF0sTR60w/
Event Year 2014
https://www.facebook.com/greg.houldcroft/media_set?set=a.10154754538255282&type=3&hc_location=ufi
Event Year 2013
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=630250570350187&set=a.609011945807383&type=3&theater
We don't always get potatoes, in 2011 there was none.
reviewed with Iris next weekend, for church harvest , Sat Oct 29
- need shovel's, pitch forks, knives for processing
carrot's, beets, cabbage, squash
Hotlist Task Created: Phone Call, no potatoes this yr. but other stuff
With: Dentz, Robert & Iris
Scheduled by: Tim Ross Assigned to: Tim Ross October 17, 2011
I believe I started this back in 2009 so we have about 10 years of harvesting under our belt at this point. I say about as over time our memories float around the beginning , going to search my archieves and confirm at some point :)
In the year 2013 I wrote
Year2014 - Tentative Date Set , Year 5 , it will be an all day event, come and go as you please. Rodger and I have worked the full day almost every time in the past , so it really needs a full day's effort and depending on the produce availability a few extra visits may be required to get it all gleaned.
There was about 5000 pounds of potatoes that we were unable to glean, plus beets , kale, squash , tons of stuff that we just didn't have the people power to glean. Hopefully next year with a greater outreach of volunteers, and expanded time line, that can all change, many hands make for light work.
so that is looking like year 2010 start harvest, the planning seed began in 2009 from a conversation I had with the Dents's that fall.
So, looking like year Year 10 will be 2019, and for fun, lt's set a tenative date Sturday October 12, 2019 with a rain date oct 19
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleaning
My notes from IFB Ottawa Ccnference last month that I attended as part of our professional development .
An encouraging session
Simon Reilly, Leading Advisor
You can go out there and add value.
Cicero and Damenthosis, speech, let’s March
Get the why right or you will just do
We have a vocation not a job, a vocation has it in your soul, the why you do it !
Passion and pulls you forward
Get rid of fear !
Inspire from deep within
We all have values inherent within you, tie values and inspiration together
If your acting tired, burn out, overwhelmed, no time, why would clients want to work with you, they will feel that from you
Feel you have time and money, make is
Wake up to gain additional understanding
We have to take responsibility, if it is going to be it’s up to me
Being, your soul
Bob Dylan , back seat driving quote Time magazine
Control I need to do it myself, need of approval and recognition, thoughts are a wheel of fortune, pick up the vibe , and they disempower themselves , and they start making mistakes , they will last 6 months if your lucky
We get distracted from making a difference by all the baggage we carry
Front seat driver or back seat driver
People walk through their days unconsciously
The emotions and belief systems get in the way
Leading Advisor , testimony from Robert Clark, Millennium, extremely bright ,
We can’t superimposing judgements on them
Missy Pursley, became the leader as she got strong vision
He works for a short period of time, you don’t need a paid friend
Don’t need to be driven by the back seat driver, doesn’t need to be that way
We need to seize the day and see the people
Understand and discover how to get your needs met
People are getting overwhelmed with the decision processing
Work out business puzzles and solve them
Create the family office
Free book, presentation they did
97$ to get started , after evaluation to start,
Get changed at a cellular level, help get past hang ups that I have
So you don’t have to prove to much, just explain how it will happen
What ever you resist persists
What is out needs DNA ?
What is the story behind it? Step 1, Step 2
Work through the emotions and belief
Develop your conviction
Your greater than your body, your mind ,!its your soul
We can provide extraordinary value to our clients
Say Yes
Good presentation, positive ideas , perhaps could benefit from this coaching going forward
Ted Talk Link
https://youtu.be/1gNUpM0Dz7Q
Thank you
Tim Ross, Family Advisor ®
Family Office providing Omega Stewardship ®
Www.BrockShoresFinancial.ca
613-345-0016 Office
613-213-4625 Cell/Text advisor@timothyross.com
Helping Families Achieve ...Life’s Major Goals ®
OMEGA STEWARDSHIP ®
* One Stop Process Driven Approach for Retirement & Income Planning
* Personalized Tax Management Solutions for Individuals & Business Owners
* Confidential Wealth Management Solutions
Mutual Funds through Professional Investments
Brock Shores Financial
#ImprovingFutures
Thousands of years ago, the story of Let's March was born. Two of the greatest public speakers of all time were Cicero and Demosthenes. Cicero was the greatest speaker in Rome; Demosthenes was the greatest speaker in Athens. After every time Cicero gave a speech, the audience would give him a standing ovation, wildly applaud, and say, "Wow, what an incredible speech." When Demosthenes was done speaking, the people would say, "Let's March."
https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/ciceros-speeches
http://10point1.blogspot.com/2010/10/really-truth-is-just-plain-picture-bob.html
http://trk.mmail.lst.fin.gov.on.ca/list/euidlxqe/180928E/dxqy8f.vib?a0=875
Reviewed the guidebook today. Fairly good common sense, communication. Take care of clients needs. Due diligence and go the second mile to ensure clients understand what they have and what their options are.
Click on the link above for the full guidance report.
A couple things I would like our firm to get better at is letting clients know the broad range of products we have available. Travel insurance, health benefits and hospitalization insurance come to mind.
Tim Ross, Founder Brock Shores Financial
#ImprovingFutures
http://ouradvisor.ca/TimothyRoss
My license link
Check others
Brock Shores Financial
Formerly Timothy Ross & Associates
4502 Airport Road – Tincap Elizabethtown, ON K6T 1A2 |
“Serving clients since 1988”
|
Voice: 613-345-0016 Fax: 613-345-5231 advisor@timothyross.com |
Another year is upon us, “the sap is running” and we are beginning our tax season once again. Our biggest announcement this year is that we have happily made a name change. We hope you like the fresh look of Brock Shores Financial. I feel it better suits our path going forward and positions us into the next 30 years as we develop our growth and succession plans. We have expanded our team, hiring on additional staff to help keep the office balanced and efficient to meet our growing client’s needs. This is now my 30th year in business and it is still my pleasure to serve you and your family as a tax consultant and advisor. Our new staff members include Cody King, Katina King, Neil Norman, and Lisa Quenneville. Heather Kiley remains our Administrative Assistant and Megan Hough is our Client Support Service Coordinator. Peter Young continues to provide out of office accounting support. Bob Harper, has come on board as our Business Development Consultant, helping promote our year round business support services. Many may know Bob for his efforts in bringing great awareness to the area and abroad about the origins of our Canadian Maple Leaf Flag and our local connection to the historic events and loving hands that lead to our countries flag creation.
Brock Shores Financial is set upon a good foundation that has been built on the Family Office concept where you can get a variety of services and advice, a one stop place for the majority of your financial services and advice. We will continue to provide what we call Omega Stewardship ® which helps us help you reach your families major goals in life.
Things are always changing, just yesterday the Canadian Government announced a number of updates in the budget which we will be monitoring going forward as some of them may impact you and or the people you work for. There was also a number of changes last year and some of these changes will effect various credits which we will adjust this year while doing your taxes.
Some of the routine news for the tax season year is as follows:
“The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.” ~ Albert Einstein
TAX SEASON OFFICE HOURS
We have now expand our front desk office hours for the next few months. Monday through Friday we open at 9:30 am and close at 8pm. This will be our goal during the weeks ahead. That being said, we take appointments beyond our “office hours” all the time throughout the year. Working Saturdays is an option as well especially during tax season if you cannot possibly make it in during the week or evenings.
If you do not require an appointment, please feel free to drop off your tax papers at the office. Staff are setup to receive and gather the necessary information. They will have you sign some papers and send some home for signing if required so we can get your returns prepared, reviewed and filed in a timely manner.
We also have had more people emailing their documentation to us from across Canada 24/7. This has been a very effective way to extend our reach and provide service across the country or simply down the street. This is not always convenient for everyone, however if you would like to, simply email a pdf of your slips or a clear photo from your smart phone. Please send them to advisor@timothyross.com and we will be able to start your returns that way.
CRA CONTACT
We will continue to select the e-filing option that CRA will contact us directly first vs you for any pre-assessment and post assessment requests for information. That has worked fairly well this past year. There has been occasions CRA didn’t cooperate with this policy and we had surprise reassessments, nevertheless we will work through those for you.
As noted last year, in the past we had CRA contact clients first after your returns had been processed (post assessments), this gave one a chance to respond on your own and avoid any additional professional charges. We found however over the last few years that people were typically bringing this to our attention anyway and sometimes completely not dealing with the matter. Then one would get reassessed, with a debt owed to CRA because no information was sent, or the wrong information was sent, missing information, etc. This causes too much stress for everyone, additional work and often requiring more expertise to sort out. So we are going to take on the responsibility of receiving these notices first and then responding to CRA on your behalf. This will involve gathering any documentation that is required from you or our records, making sure it is correct, make any necessary adjustments if it is determined it is in your best interest, submitting in a proper format to CRA.
We are now able to electronically submit documentation which gives us another level of assurance that they got it, eliminating a lot of questions regarding did they get? How long will it take? Or “they” lost it. You will always maintain the option to do it yourself, however there is often thousands of dollars on the line and we feel it best to invest in some professional service and protect your tax file for the year in question and by responding in a good manner, this often helps reduce future requests, so it protects you from future audits, not always, however from our experience, it often does. Often it can take longer to respond to even what I consider the simplest of tasks than it does for us to do someone’s tax return.
With 30 years’ experience, I use the words “simplest of task” from that perspective. To help you and our office, I have trained my team to help in this process. Everyone has different charge out rates and various experiences, so depending on the request from CRA and what they require, we will have the appropriate person work on your file and review with me to make sure that your tax file is protected.
“Thinking is one thing no one has ever been able to tax.” ~ Charles Kettering
CLARIFYING OUR “Dang It” POLICY
Every once in a while, we will make an error. No one wants to admit it, however I will. Frankly we are humans, and despite all our experience, and all the steps we take to make sure we input the correct information, it can happen. A number gets transposed, or put in the wrong spot, or gets missed… just being human. Last year it happened a few times, and worked out to be 0.25% of our work load. Property taxes vs rent happened on a couple this year, so if you’re getting too big of a trillium benefit let us know right away and will double check, it’s a very tiny box on our forms.
When any error happens CRA will probably pick up on the error and adjust it right away. Sometimes it takes longer, and they ask us or you to clarify, or they will send out a reassessment if they are sure they have the correct information. When this happens, we will do the necessary professional work to correct the problem at no cost to you, sometimes it is what it is. Always let us check whenever you get something from the government. Taxes are a big web and one thing leads to another, and CRA doesn’t usually connect the dots, especially if it is in your favor. We will look at the big picture and pursue it out of principle for you, because we take a lot of pride in what we do.
If we made the error, I will give you a credit on your tax returns for any interest you are charged related to the error we made, up to the time it is discovered and corrected. You are responsible for any tax owing, as you would have been if there had been no error in the first place. When the error comes from missing information that we did not receive, you are responsible for interest and taxes payable. Depending on the work required, we often waive the professional fee to clarify the matter, however, there are times when it takes a lot of work and it falls under our CRA contact procedure policies, and while we appreciate your business, unfortunately our staff do not work for free.
We feel there is value in knowing when you have had contact from CRA, as it triggers future questions for us next time we file your return (i.e., where is that tax slip from the bank?) You do not want to be missing stuff, because after just a few things missing with CRA, they can classify you as a delinquent filer, not reporting all your income, and when you miss something next time they penalize you in the future for forgetfulness. They call it the “repeated failure to report income penalty” and the numbers can get crazy. The government has implemented some changes for income under $500, but above that it is crazy expensive, (just google it you will see what I mean, various calculations), and it takes about 3 years to get off that list, so we will do everything that we can to keep you off the list in the first place, it’s not good for you or us. You may never see it, but rest assured that we take a lot of care and due diligence, so this never or rarely happens. However, if it does, I just want you to know in advance what we will do so you’re not left hanging and wondering. Our staff have clear direction to answer any questions that come up and implement a timely solution. That being said, we encourage you to check over your return, I think it is important that you understand your finances and how things generally work, and CRA makes it quite clear that in the end you are responsible for your taxes, so, if there is something missing, you have the responsibility to bring that to our attention, and we will adjust it. We will do our best to have it correct the first time, but if we made a human error, we welcome the opportunity to get it right. Jim Rohn said, “Accuracy builds credibility” and we are just keeping it real because we are here to serve you and your family and we look forwarding to having a long term relationship that is beneficial to us all. Our greatest compliment is when you refer others to us, it says a lot and is frankly how I prefer to do business.
Henry Ford once said, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” ….. Thanks for continuing to work with us, your business and friendship over the years is sincerely appreciated.
We Like to Be TAX SMART
Things are always changing, yet our goal remains as always, to get you the highest refund possible and minimize your tax burden. Working with us has many other benefits as we are a full-service firm with many options available to service your needs.
We encourage you to be Tax Smart; Some new things to be aware of this year
PAYMENTS & FILES
Payments can made by cheque, cash or e-transfer. Our fees are based on the complexity of your tax return(s) as well as you’re your monetary situation. If you have a file you have dropped off or previous paper work that we have been holding, please be sure to pick it up once your taxes are done. Unfortunately, we do not have the space to hold everyone’s files for consecutive years.
Wrap Up
We value you, and we look forward to serving you once again this year. We hope you appreciate our name change and welcome our new staff as we build our service. We aim to bring value to your life, family or business. Please see the attached document introducing you to some NEW hydration that may improve your everyday living! Be sure and journey down to O’Mally Kourt & Fudgery at 55 King Street West Brockville , grab yourself a cold one and #BeTheAdventure
A little story about #ImprovingFutures , when we were working on the name change, I had a spot on the business card and it was calling me for some text, so I gave it some serious thought and I asked “What do we ultimately do for people ? After some reflecting we decided that Improving Futures is really what we do at the end of the day, then Megan said, “Put a hash tag on it”, and that is what we did.
PS: We are working on a new website, we have a lot of articles there already, we encourage you to simply check it out. The site is being setup as a member driven community site, so we encourage you to become a member while you’re there. www.ImprovingFutures.ca will take you there. It’s value will grow with time and as a member you will certainly hear about stuff first.
Looking forward to hearing from you; Call, Visit, and/or Email 24/7
Thank you
Timothy Ross
advisor@timothyross.com
Brock Shores Financial – Formerly Timothy Ross & Associates
www.BrockShoresFinancial.ca #ImprovingFutures
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“Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind the stronger the trees” - John Willard Marriott
“We will receive not what we idly wish for but what we justly earn. Our rewards will always be in exact proportion to our service.” ~ Earl Nightingale
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
“Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss.” ~ Robert A. Heinlein
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
~ Rob Siltanen
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~ Margaret Mead
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
"The beauty of being in business is that your business engages all aspects of your mind, I think that is why you become successful, business challenges you to be more than you are, and that is where the miracle takes place." ~ Timothy Ross, May 2004
EFILE system is currently closed for personal tax returns and will re-open on Monday, February 26, 2018 at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern time) for the electronic filing of our clients 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 initial personal income tax and benefit returns and 2015, 2016 and 2017 amended T1 returns.
EFILE Helpdesk Support
Sudbury Tax Centre
1050 Notre-Dame Avenue
Sudbury ON P3A 5C1
Local calls: 705-670-6499
Long distance calls: 1-800-361-6283
Fax: 705-670-6500 or 1-855-338-5495
Eastern Time
7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The following services will still be available after January 19, 2018:
Note: You must use the current-year version of the tax software to electronically submit the 2016 form through the T1013 transmission web service until 8:00 p.m. on Friday, February 9, 2018. When the T1013 web service re-opens at 8:30 a.m. Monday, February 12, 2018 it will only accept the 2017 version of this form.
www.thefinancialfairytales.com/blog/about/
A great blog on finances from the UK.
I found this resource when I was searching for the story about taxes and how taxes relates to the care and feeding of the golden goose and how that goose does perhaps eat too much. Jim Rohn spoke about it back 1993 when I first met him. The text is below and a link to the article that inspired the search of the memory bank. ~ TLR
One of the original Financial Fairy Tales – The Goose That Lays The Golden Eggs tells the tale of a farmer with a steady and reliable stream of passive income. Sadly he gets greedy and ends up killing the source in the search for instant gratification.
In this article, one of my mentors Jim Rohn uses the Golden Goose story to discuss taxation. Here’s what he had to say:-
I realize that the topic of taxes may seem like a strange place to begin the discussion of creating wealth. And yet throughout our lives, whether young or old, we must learn the necessity of paying taxes. And as soon as they have any money at all, our children, too, must learn that when they spend money they immediately become consumers. And all consumers of goods and services, no matter how young, must pay taxes. Why?
Because we have all agreed to live as a society, and for that society to function properly, there are some things we cannot do for ourselves alone. For example, we cannot each build a piece of the street. The machinery would be too expensive, and it would take too long to learn how to use it. So we have a government. And a government is made up of people who do things for us that we cannot or do not want to do ourselves. Because the streets, the sidewalks, the police, and the fire department must all be paid for, we’ve agreed to add some money each time we buy something and give it to the government.
We then move on to federal taxes. Here is a good way to explain federal taxes. I call it “The Care and Feeding of the Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs.” It’s so important to feed the goose-not to abuse the goose or tear off its wings-but to feed and care for it.
What’s that you say? The goose eats too much? That’s probably true. But then, don’t we all eat too much? If so, let not one appetite accuse another. If you step on the scales and you’re ten pounds too heavy, you’ve got to say, “Yes, the government and I are each about ten pounds too heavy. Looks like we both eat too much.” No question about it. Every appetite must be disciplined-yours, mine, and the government’s. Hey, we could all go on a diet!
My mentor, Mr. Shoaff, urged me early on to become a happy taxpayer. Now, I must admit it took a while, but I finally did become a happy taxpayer. Part of this transformation occurred when I began to understand the function of taxes and that it is right for everyone to pay his or her fair share.
I finally decided I didn’t mind picking up my share of the tab for defense. It’s so necessary for our safety as a country to keep the bullies away. Some people say, “Why bother with all that expensive equipment? They won’t come over here.” Obviously, those people haven’t been reading their history books.
Others say, “We’re not about to pick up the tab for defense.” Well then, I suggest they go to a place which doesn’t offer defense as part of the package. If one is going to enjoy the benefits, one should pay a share.
Now, let me add this: Don’t pay more than you should. By all means take advantage of the incentives. They were given to you as a reward for channeling your money into areas the government thinks helps the economy.
All I’m saying is that when everything has been computed, all legitimate deductions have been taken, and you reach that last line on your income tax form, whatever the amount, pay it. And pay with happiness, knowing that you’re feeding the goose that lays the golden eggs-the golden eggs of freedom, safety, justice, and free enterprise. Some goose! Some eggs.
https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/ten-year-end-facts-canadians-need-to-know
And while here, check out the think tanks other thoughts, I am sure there is some gold nuggets in there !
Bonus ... Goose or Eggs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjF2SvzlOm0&list=PLhhVyaUmOQupT95UiO_74c0-wATcRxceV&index=15
Year-end planning for RRSPs and TFSAs (December 2017)
For most Canadians, registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) don’t become top of mind until near the end of February, as the annual contribution deadline approaches. When it comes to tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), most Canadians are aware that there is no contribution deadline for such plans, so that contributions can be made at any time. Consequently, neither RRSPs nor TFSAs tend to be a priority when it comes to year-end tax planning.
Notwithstanding those facts, there are considerations which apply to both RRSPs and TFSAs in relation to the approach of the end of calendar year. Failing to take those considerations into account can mean the permanent loss of contribution room, a loss of flexibility when it comes to making withdrawals, or having to pay more tax than required when funds are withdrawn. Some of those considerations are outlined below.
While most RRSP contributions, in order to be deducted on the return for 2017, can be made anytime up to and including March 1, 2018, there is one important exception to that rule.
Every Canadian who has an RRSP must collapse that plan by the end of the year in which he or she turns 71 years of age – usually by converting the RRSP into a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) or by purchasing an annuity. An individual who turns 71 during the year is still entitled to make a final RRSP contribution for that year, assuming that he or she has sufficient contribution room. However, in such cases, the 60-day window for contributions after December 31st is not available. Any RRSP contribution to be made by a person who turns 71 during the year must be made by December 31st of that year.
Under Canadian tax rules, a taxpayer can make a contribution to a registered retirement savings plans (RRSP) in his or her spouse’s name and claim the deduction for the contribution on his or her own return. When the funds are withdrawn by the spouse, the amounts are taxed as the spouse’s income, at a (presumably) lower tax rate. However, the benefit of having withdrawals taxed in the hands of the spouse is available only where the withdrawal takes place no sooner than the end of the second calendar year following the year in which the contribution is made. Therefore, where a contribution to a spousal RRSP is made in December of 2017, the contributor can claim a deduction for that contribution on his or her return for 2017. The spouse can then withdraw that amount as early as January 1, 2020 and have it taxed in his or her own hands. If the contribution isn’t made until January or February of 2018, the contributor can still claim a deduction for it on the 2017 tax return, but the amount won’t be eligible to be taxed in the spouse’s hands on withdrawal until January 1, 2021. It’s an especially important consideration for couples who are approaching retirement who may plan on withdrawing funds in the relatively new future. Even where that’s not the situation, making the contribution before the end of the calendar year will ensure maximum flexibility should an unanticipated withdrawal become necessary.
Each Canadian aged 18 and over can make an annual contribution to a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) – the maximum contribution for 2017 is $5,500. As well, where an amount previously contributed to a TFSA is withdrawn from the plan, that withdrawn amount can be re-contributed, but not until the year following the year of withdrawal.
Consequently, it makes sense, where a TFSA withdrawal is planned within the next few months, perhaps to pay for a winter vacation or to make an RRSP contribution, to make that withdrawal before the end of the calendar year. A taxpayer who withdraws funds from his or her TFSA before December 31st, 2017 will have the amount withdrawn added to his or her TFSA contribution limit for 2018, which means it can be re-contributed as early as January 1, 2018. If the same taxpayer waits until January of 2018 to make the withdrawal, he or she won’t be eligible to replace the funds withdrawn until 2019.