This blog will now be taken over by Mitch Fargen, the new Rural Development Director. Thank you to those who followed my blog and those that enjoyed a quote every now and again! May you continue to do so.

Jolene

"The more you see yourself as a valuable and important person, the more positive and optimistic you will be. When you consider yourself to be important, you will treat other people as if they are important as well."

~Brian Tracy

"Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not."

~Oprah Winfrey

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about."

~Charles Kingsley

"When we are judging others, we have no time to love them."

~Mother Theresa

Handle the task at hand.

Too much to do, to little time to do it? Clear your desk of all papers except those relating to the immediate problem at hand.

The mere sight of a desk littered with unanswered mail and reports and memos is enough to breed confusion, tension, and worries. It also breeds a sense of the unending stretch of things ahead that simply must get done.

Move to Action
Settle things as they come in. Do not let yourself get bogged down by a mountain of unfinished business.

www.dalecarnegiesd.com

"Values don't just happen. It takes time. It takes dialogue. It takes commitment. It will cost you, but it is a wise investment. It is good business."

~John G. Blumberg

"Having a simple, clearly defined goal can capture the imagination and enthusiasm of your people. It can cut through the night like a beacon. It can bring an idea to life."

~Mac Anderson

"Your real purpose in life is to develop yourself. To successfully do this you must always be working toward a goal."

~Bob Proctor

"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."
~Walt Disney

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."

~Napoleon Hill

"Failure is an essential part of the combination required to open the lock on success."

~Gary Ryan Blair

"Trust your hunches. They're usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level."

~Dr. Joyce Brothers

"I truly respect those people and those companies with the courage to take a risk or embrace change, because risk and change are the common denominators for all Big Ideas."

~Mac Anderson

"Time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action, and purpose."

~Lance Armstrong

Very Clever Palindrome

"Beginners and outsiders are open to possibilities and don’t make assumptions. By extension, they’re often better at finding solutions the experts have stopped seeing."

~Michael McMillan

"You gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face. You must do that which we think we cannot."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

Resources

I have done some researching on the Web and found the below articles pertaining to our third session coming up in April.

Writing Press Releases

Working With Media

Top 7 Tips

Tips for Working With Media

Organizing Successful Media Event

"The world is full of abundance and opportunity, but far too many people come to the fountain of life with a sieve instead of a tank car, a teaspoon instead of a steam shovel. They expect little and as a result they get little."

~Ben Sweetland

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."

~Winston Churchill

"There is an advantage in every disadvantage and a gift in every problem."

~John Johnson

"Find something positive to think about and don't let the conversation in your head end with a negative comment. Always end on a positive comment."

~Dr. Tomi Bryan and Dr. Jerry White

"What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."

~Pericles

"Many of us who are great team members at work take off our teamwork hats when we walk in the door at home. We do not seem to realize that our spouse and children are not nearly as interested in our job title as our taking time to relate to them as equals. Are you guilty of this? How would they want you to act differently?"

~Twyman Towery

"There comes a moment when you have to stop revving up the car and shove it into gear."

~David Mahoney

"Amateur performers habitually play not to lose and procrastinate because they fear making a mistake. The great ones know mistakes will be made and can be corrected."

~Steve Siebold

"If people are respectfully allowed to think, grow and contribute with their individual abilities, we will learn much faster about the unseen Truths that surround us each day. By letting people create their own maps, we will build momentum for discovery and achieve more profound insight and understanding."

~Michael McMillan

"To make mistakes is human; to stumble is commonplace; to be able to laugh at yourself is maturity."

~William Arthur Ward

"I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference."

~Ellen Goodman

"But now is the time . . . the only time you have. Stop 'majoring in minors' and get busy pursuing the big stuff. Decide what one big dream you want to accomplish this year and create a plan for accomplishing it. Then set the wheels in motion. You'll not only start playing a bigger game, you'll become a bigger person in the process."

~Betty Mahalik

"You can live each day in a world filled with 'problems,' or rise each morning and embrace a world filled with unseen solutions...eager for you to find them. The decision is yours...both worlds exist. The one you choose is the one you will create."

~Michael McMillan

"Be seduced by the attractiveness of your goal. Inaction leads to impotence. Taking purposeful action immunizes you from 'Goal Parkinson's,' a long, slow goodbye to your dreams, talents and destiny."

~Gary Ryan Blair, Goals

"When you speak of someone or about someone, you should speak as though they were in the room with you. The ears that you speak to today are attached to the mouth that could relay the message tomorrow."

~William 'Biddy' Allen

Goals

"Those with goals tend to succeed because they are focused and know where they are going, while those without goals do not."

~Ted Karam

What are your short term goals (next 3 months)? Please share them here!

"How we think shows through in how we act. Attitudes are mirrors of the mind. They reflect thinking."

~David J. Schwartz

Report suggests ‘brain gain’ instead of brain drain | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota

Report suggests ‘brain gain’ instead of brain drain | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota

Posted using ShareThis

"An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity."

~Winston Churchill

Only You Can Change Anything

The following is taken from Elizabeth Hagen at www.elizabethhagenspeaks.com:

I think one of the biggest epidemics we have is the 'blame game'. Have you noticed this? Nothing is anyone's responsibility.

Do you play the blame game? If you do your life will stay exactly as it is right now. When we blame we put the power of change in the person (or event) that we are blaming. Think about this for a minute. If you're blaming Mary for something and she doesn't know that you think she did anything wrong nothing will change. If Mary knows that you are blaming her and doesn't care nothing will change. If Mary knows that you are blaming her, realizes it's her fault, but decides not to do anything about it nothing will change.

Are you seeing a pattern?!

I don't like to have it be someone else's responsibility for change in my life. I want to be in charge of my own life and not wait for others. How about you?

The minute you start to blame someone stop and say to yourself "If it's going to be it's up to me." (This is actually a title from a book by Dr. Robert Schuller. Excellent book by the way!) When you say that statement your brain will start to work on finding ways that YOU can do something about the issue. This means that YOU are responsible and will do something about it. You don't have to wait for anyone else. It's a beautiful thing! Your life is up to you!

What can you do in February to change?
Make a list of who/what you are blaming and write an action step by each item of something that you can do:
Turn off the TV
Exercise
Choose healthy food
Think before you react
What do YOU want to do?!!

February Confidence Action Step:Decide that today is the first day of the rest of your life and your are going to have an awesome life! Your life is up to you.

"It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men. Men respond to leadership in a most remarkable way and once you have won his heart, he will follow you anywhere."

~Vince Lombardi

"A person struggles. You help. A door needs to be opened. You open it. A piece of trash is in your path. You pick it up and throw it away. A child needs some extra attention. You give it. A job needs to be completed.

You do it."One more act of kindness a week will add 52 moments of inspiration to your year. Push it to two a week and you add more than 100. Imagine the possibilities."

~Sam Parker and Mac Anderson

"I've learned the phrase, 'less is more'is absolutely true . . .with too much of what you don't need,it's hard to find the things you do!"

~Linda Ellis

"We may not be able to do any great thing, but if each of us will do something, however small it may be, a good deal will be accomplished."

~D.L. Moody

"Your goal in life should be to enjoy the highest levels of health and energy possible. This requires that you eat the right foods and fewer of them. It requires you to get regular exercise and move every joint of your body daily. To enjoy superb physical health, you must get lots of rest and recreation. Above all, you maintain a positive mental attitude, looking for the good in every situation, and remain determined to be a completely positive person."

~Brian Tracy

"Courage is not limited to the battlefield. The real tests of courage are much quieter. They are the inner tests, like enduring pain when the room is empty or standing alone when you're misunderstood."

~Charles Swindoll

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose your words, for they become actions. Understand your actions, for they become habits. Study your habits, for they will become your character. Develop your character, for it becomes your destiny."

~Unknown

"A service culture doesn't happen by accident. The company is always a reflection of the person at the helm. Their attitude, their values, and their commitment to service excellence will drive the actions of others in the organization. Always has . . . always will."

~Mac Anderson, Customer Love

Young Leaders

This was filmed at a Texas Tech Basketball game on February 9th. The National Anthem is sung by five young ladies (ages 6-8). The two young ladies on the right are six years old. The two in the middle are seven and the one on the left is eight. An entire arena remains completely silent throughout the song, you could hear a pin drop. Take a moment to listen...............

"Shared values serve to build an effective team, establish its culture, conduct, rules and policies. All teams have values--some good, some bad. The key is having positive values that each individual embraces, lives by and shares with every member on the team."

~Scott Beare and Michael McMillan, The Power of Teamwork

"Without shared values, peak performance isn't possible."

~Scott Beare and Michael McMillan

"Progress involves risk. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first."

~Frederick Wilcox

"The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision."
~Helen Keller

Dakota Farm Show - Vermillion, SD

Come check out our booth at the Dakota Farm Show at the Dome on USD campus. Booth #357!

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

Agatha Christie, 1890-1976, Novelist

Let the Other Person Do the Talking

Most people try to win others to their way of thinking by talking about themselves. Let other people talk themselves out. They know more about their business, their job, or their problems than you do.

If you really want to win people over, let them do the talking. They will not pay attention to you if they have ideas of their own crying for expression. Listen patiently and with an open mind. Encourage them to express their opinions. Let them tell you a few things. This same principle works with your family and friends. A French philosopher once said, "If you want enemies, excel your friends. If you want friends, let your friends excel you."

Move to Action: If you usually share all of your triumphs with your coworkers, talk less about yourself and listen to them. They have triumphs they would also like to share. They will be more excited to tell you their stories than to listen to yours.

www.dalecarnegiesd.com