Google

Hello all,

"Google"

On the strong encouragement of my better half I recently converted everything from Outlook to Google. I went kicking and screaming, cried like a baby but she was correct. The obvious cool things gmail and shared calendars is what I expected. However the really cool thing and the pleasant surprise was Google Docs. Verl Workman had touched upon this at the tech fair so I decided to jump in. If you live in any kind of world where you need to share documents with another person this is a must and it is so easy, a couple of examples. Business- Mark, Teri & I had a recruiting hit list in an excel spread sheet, we would meet every so often, talk about the agents... Mark would then need to redo the spread sheet, send it back out to us, we would have to delete our current one the upload the new one. I converted the spread sheet to google docs and invited Mark & Teri to share. Now the spread sheet sits on the cloud, we can view it at any time, make changes, notes... and no one else sees it but us. Real Estate Team- Lisa and her team have a client party coming up, Lisa started a guest list in google docs then invited Diane to join, they can both add the guests as they come in with out passing the doc back and forth. They have also started uploading their contract to close check sheets in google docs so everyone who is involved in the transaction can have access to it. If you have a team, are on a team or work with someone else the things you can do with this is endless. Family- are second oldest just got her drivers license and she drives some of the other children around for us. There are certain expenses she incurs doing this, gas food... that we need to reimburse her for. Mom, Dad and child can track everything through the spread sheet. 

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe   

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY!

"It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves."

- Katherine Mansfield

PLAY THE FAMILY GAME!

Feel like you're losing touch with your children? Wish you understood your spouse better? Want to enjoy closer family ties without the background noise of X-Box games or loud music?  Does everyone seem to scatter the moment their last bite of food is swallowed? Introduce them to "the family game!"

It's a fun way to bring your family together at the dinner table and keep them there - without complaints.  Furthermore, you'll soon have them willingly sharing their dreams, disappointments, likes & dislikes, interests, successes, and innermost thoughts.  Finally, you will have created a new family tradition your children will delight in passing on to their own families.

Introduce your version of the family game at the end of a dinnertime meal when everyone is present.  Don't make a big production of it, just ask everyone to remain at the table.  Tell them you've heard of a fun game and would like to play it with them.  Explain that each person at the table gets one turn (and only one turn).  You begin by asking a question that everyone, including yourself, has to answer.  For instance, your question might be, "What's the most embarrassing moment you've ever had?"  Go around the table and let each family member contribute.

Once everyone answers, let the person at your left ask the next question.  It might be, "What's the worst birthday present you've ever received?" or maybe, "If you could go back in the past and live in a different time, when would it be and why?"  You'll be amazed at the sharing your family will suddenly experience. 

Once the "family game" becomes a regular part of meals, add this twist:  Before being seated, tell family members that they may sit in any seat at the table except their normal seat.  The catch is that they must also "act" like the person normally seated in the chair they choose.  This can produce hilarious results.

If your family seems fragmented and scattered, play "the family game."  It's a natural for bringing joy, depth, communication and understanding back to your loved ones.