Political Blunder
This article in the Honolulu Advertiser tells the story, but fails to mention my feelings. I never rode the Superferry during its short stay in Hawaii, and possibly never would have. Three hours is just too long for me to spend getting from one island to another when I can fly in 20 minutes. In spite of that, I was moved close to tears when I looked out from my lanai on Saturday to see the Superferry heading out of town for the last time. Its sad energy reached all the way up to where I was standing. We used to watch it sail proudly by every day on it’s journey to and from Maui, but this time the direction was different as was the feeling. It had its tail between its legs, beaten down one last time by the Hawaii political machine.

“Hawaii Hotels Barely 68% Full”
That was the headline for THIS STORY in Pacific Business News. It’s another example of the negative sensationalism that may sell papers, but does nothing to help the current state of affairs. You need to read the article carefully to discover what’s behind the headline. Deeper in the story we see that:

• Oahu occupancy declined 6.5 percentage points to 72.5 percent.
• Maui occupancy was off 13.2 percentage points to 68.4 percent.
• Kauai occupancy plunged 15.2 percentage points to 64.6 percent.
• Big Island occupancy tumbled 19.3 percentage points to 57.2 percent.

If you are looking for the positive side of things, as I always am, please notice that the largest % fallout is on the Big Island and Kauai, where the total numbers of people are surely the lowest. Oahu, where the most people are is ONLY down 6.5% from last year, or better said “93.5% of last year.” Why can’t that be the headline? That’s a lot of people, and they are NOT people who have lost their jobs and homes. They are people spending money on a Hawaiian vacation.

The press needs to give us a break and skew the news in a positive way. The truth is the same either way. The problem lies in the perception of people who don’t bother to read past the headlines or fail to stop and think about what they are really saying.

Better and Better
I am amazed by the continued development of Apple’s iPhone capabilities. I bought my first one a year or so ago because of its intuitive nature and large number of uses. They continue to issue updates which I download via iTunes, and each time it gets better. I held off getting the 3G, thinking I didn’t need the increased speed or GPS, but once I got it I was blown away by the improvements.

More and More
Then came the Applications. In January, just a couple of short months ago, Jerry Kohl asked me if I have some cool applications on my iPhone. I didn’t even know they existed. Now I have more than 20 of them; most of which I find myself using a lot. Many are free, others cost as little as 99 cents, and I haven’t paid more than $4 for any of them. With a touch of my finger I can find restauraunts, movies, stores or just about anything else around where I happen to be. The iPhone will listen to music and tell me what the tune is and all about the artist. With Pandora I can tell it which musicians I like and it will search the world finding radio stations playing their songs and send them through my ear buds endlessly. Excercising has never been so easy. I can locate recipes and books. iTalk turns my iphone into a recorder and allows me to label and then save and or e-mail what I have recorded. There is a MobileFiles application that synchs and sends selected files from my computer to the iPhone. And if I ever need a laugh there’s iFart. That’s one you need to hear to appreciate.

Twitter Tie In
Just yesterday I downloaded TwitterFon which lets me (or you) make live Twitter posts on the move, and even attach photographs stored in the iPhone, or take a picture with the iPhone and  and attach either of them.

Multiply This X $400 to $500
Apple sold 13.7 million iPhones in 2008, and they are not finished yet. This article just published yesterday announces the new iPhone 3.0 which will allow you to sell or buy goods and services via the iPhone. What can be next?

Something Worth Repeating
Here are some of the benefits of the avocado:
• They contains around 25% of the calories and total fat of dairy butter, by weight
• When compared ounce for ounce they provide more heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, fiber, vitamin E, folic acid, and potassium than other fruits.
• Avocados are the number-one fruit source of beta-sitosterol, a substance that lowers total cholesterol better than a low fat diet, and even improves HDL cholesterol.
• It also provides vitamin C and vitamin B6, and about one-third of your daily requirement of folate, a nutrient that helps neutralize excess levels of heart attack-causing homocysteine.

Serving Suggestion:
You can use it in place of spreads like butter or mayonnaise.
Avocado Fact:
The green, smooth-skinned Florida avocados have less fat and fewer calories than the smaller, rough-skinned California kind.
Ways to increase consumption of avocados:
You can use fresh avocado on sandwiches and toast for a healthy breakfast snack.

Dip It!
Avocados can also be used as a delicious dip, especially if you use yogurt instead of mayonnaise and add some roasted garlic.

Tip from Me:
If you have yet to discover Veganaise; get some. You will never use mayanaise again.

“I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It’s done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the Mickey out of the consumer.”
-Richard Branson

I have always been fond of that quote. Find the “Mickey” in your business and keep it in there.

Disneyland
I lived in Southern California when the first Disneyland was being built. I leased a jewelry counter inside Disneyland several years later. As a merchant at Disneyland I had to follow more rules than most retailers do today. Disney knew their customer, and they were not about to let some retailer in the park take the magic away. They have a rule at Disney that says, “You are not allowed to ever be seen out of character by a customer.” That would be a good rule for everyone in business to follow.

Not at Disneyland
Imagine going to Disneyland and seeing Mickey Mouse on break reading a newspaper or talking on the telephone. It won’t happen. They have secret underground tunnels for employees to take their breaks.

Watchful Eyes
As I travel about, I am always on the lookout for examples of people doing it the right way and the wrong way. I call my photo collection “People at Work” and I am always adding to it. Following are a few of my favorites that you would NEVER see at Disneyland.

Reading the news may be important, but not while on the job.

Smoking is not allowed in Hawaii businesses. It’s the law.

Text Messaging has become a very popular activity.

Eating on the job is not cool. Customers are not likely to interupt someone’s lunch to buy something.

Entertainment. Some “salespeople” even watch a DVD while enjoying lunch.

Crossword puzzles require a lot of thought and focus, in this case at the expense of the customer.

Super Bowl Sunday. I’ve even seen special devises rigged up to improve the video viewing and sound.

Multi-tasking is an important talent, and some have it down pretty good.

And the winner is…
The “salespeople” in these photos all have one thing in common, and that’s when someone asks them how sales are, they have the same answer, “It’s so slow.” And it is the truth!

Aim At the Target
This msnbc article shows a photo of about 200 people lined up at the Salt Lake location and tells of more than 1,000 turning up at Kapolei for the opening of the first Target Stores in Hawaii on Wednesday morning.
It’s hard to beleive that these people are suffering so badly from the current “econimic crisis” that they decided to wait in line for hours to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need. This is just one more example that people ARE spending money when motivated to do so. Too many retailers are sitting back and crying the blues about the econmomy rather than figuring out how to get people buying in their stores.

Use Your Time Well
I so often hear people complaining about their lack of time. In Success Made Easy I observe that the busiest people in the world don’t have a time advantage, nor do those with nothing to do get less. We all get the same - 24 hours a day; no more, no less!

Time For a Game
Our new president is a good example of the fact that you can find time to do it all. Most people would shudder at his work schedule, yet he finds (makes) time to have dinner with his family, go to the opera and even enjoy a basketball game. You can as well; just decide to.

Do It Now
One of my treasures is this photo of me and W. Clement Stone in my Holywood office. “Clem’s” secret to getting things done was his affirmation, “Do It Now.” Those words flash into my mind anytime I find myself proscrastinating. I have found that it usually takes less time to do it than to think about doing it.

Are You Twittering Yet?
When I got e-mail (Friday) suggesting that I get a Twitter account, my reply was rather sarcastic. I said something like, “First there was MySpace, then Facebook, then LinkedIn. I did them all; why I don’t know. In addition I have my website, my calendar, my Blog and my Daily Motivator to stay on top of. And then there’s the business to run.” Well, being the curious person that I am, I checked it out, and now I have a Twitter account with a rapidly growing list of people finding and “following” me.
This one is different, and as I spend more and more time understanding how to use it I am seeing some real benefits. First is that you do not have to post anything at all, you can just “follow people” that you have interest in. My favorite one already is the Honolulu Advertiser. Any time that anything happens they “Twitter it” long before it appears anywhere else. Restaurants can post menu specials, artists post art shows, retailers release new products, movie theatres movie times, all in real time. The list is endless. My current Twitter update says simply, “Working on new Blog post.” Maybe someone will tune in to read this before getting my Daily Motivator in the morning. In a few moments it will say, “Blog finished, working on Monday Motivator.” That one you will have to wait to see. C’mon; follow me!