"Let Them Go Bankrupt!"

I switched the channel this morning over to MSNBC for a little while to see how the other half thinks. I was immediately treated to a 'panel' of experts, all 4 of whom were staunchly democratic/ liberal in their opinions. No balance. Nothing from the other side. (For the critics of Fox News, you might take note of the fact that they almost always have both sides represented in a typical conversation.)

The one thing I do remember from the broadcast that stood out clearly was them perpetuating the lie that Mitt Romney said he wanted the auto industry to go bankrupt. They held up the newspaper with the headline "let them Go Bankrupt" and continued to say, over and over, that Mitt Romney said this thing. I am really sick and tired of this lie being spread by a media that has simply lost all credibility- I'm not simply talking about MSNBC, either. However, the subject of my current ire does rest on the narrow shoulders of an incompetent network who will do almost anything to ensure the current president is given the path of least resistance to the White House.
For anyone who is interested, I looked up the article in question and present it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/opinion/19romney.html

I also read the article, word for word, so that I could say without reservation that Mitt Romney never states, anywhere in this article, "let them go bankrupt." Instead, he shows how much of an economic genius he is by explaining how and why things need to change in Detroit. He also quoted the former head of the UAW, Walter Reuther, as saying, “Getting more and more pay for less and less work is a dead-end street.”

Please, anyone who still thinks Romney said this, take a few minutes to read this article. It says a lot about who he is and how desperate the liberals are.

The Pepsi Refresh Project- The Advantage of Using Social Media Marketing

(As I pursue a Graduate Degree, I find myself desiring to see what others think about some of the research papers I am required to write.  This is the first one I've decided to share.  Let me know what you think.)

Stuart Davis

Dr Lena

Contemporary Business BUS508

Summer Quarter, 2012-08-29

Abstract

It is no longer enough for a business to pay for advertising on traditional mediums with the expectation that it will generate all the traffic their store needs.  Social media is the new method for advertising to larger numbers of potential customers.  It allows individuals to build brand awareness and is a relatively inexpensive way for companies to get their products much needed brand recognition.  Additionally, advertising through social media marketing is a platform for companies to launch a new advertising campaign and is a large part of the future of marketing. 

The Pepsi Refresh Project- The Advantage of Using Social Media Marketing

A company uses a social media outlet to promote a new product.  Another company uses the internet to create a good mood in order to advance their product.  A television network uses social media marketing to get younger viewers to watch the network (IDEO: Five Companies That Mastered Social Media’s Branding Potential).  This innovative use of technology to promote and advertise a company’s products is a growing trend in the world of advertising.  It allows the advertiser to go directly to the customer.  The popularity of social media is growing by leaps and bounds every year and the trend is most likely going to continue its growth for the foreseeable future.  This medium provides an inexpensive way for companies to attract new customers to their brand and keep them coming back. The only limit to the possibilities is the imagination of the marketing department.

Social Media Marketing has become incredibly popular among businesses of all sizes for a number of reasons such as easy access, real-time customer support, product development and the ability to see what the competition is doing (Dodaro, 2012).  Social media is growing in popularity by leaps and bounds.  Facebook has well over 300 million profiles and is still growing. Twitter posts millions of tweets each day.  YouTube is a website dedicated to the amateur video producer, where anyone can upload their videos and anyone can watch them at any time. Marketers are now tapping into these mediums and many more, as they discover the value social media marketing brings to their businesses.

Social Media Marketing provides easy access for advertisers to tap into this pool of potential customers.  Customers are able to look at products they might be interested in without leaving the comfort of their homes.  Since the internet is such a vast place, and since so many people have access to it, the chances of a business getting a boost from social media marketing is going to be very good.  Some companies are using social media to develop ways for other companies to use social sites, making it even easier for businesses to use these mediums.  For instance, SpyderLink has created the SanpTag (About social snaptags, 2011), which enable marketers to convert target consumers to social connections via mass marketing.  This takes social media marketing to the next level.  It makes the use of the medium very easy and it also helps to track the success of the campaign, enabling companies to make changes to their marketing campaign in real time.  Businesses are able to offer online coupons and specials when they use social media to market their products.  Additionally, a popular brand or product is going to be talked about by the customers, creating even more opportunity to get the product seen.  Much like a video that has gone viral, a product with the right marketing, and maybe a cute video attached to it, is going to be talked about by many more people than a magazine or television ad.

Relationship marketing has taken over as the primary way businesses advertise and complete.  They can no longer afford to simply make a good product, post a few advertisements on the television and in magazines and expect to succeed.  Today’s businesses have to go further than they used to.  Now, instead of relying on one or two forms of media to get their message out, they have to utilize every available format.  Consumers expect more from the businesses on which they spend their money.  A company needs to be more personal and the social media is the simplest way for them to achieve this.  They have to build customer loyalty and it is among the simplest ways to communicate with their customers.  Social media marketing allows the customer to participate in the product through the use of videos and online conversations.  Perhaps the biggest reason for businesses to embrace this relationship trend is the personal nature of branding it brings to the market.  Opinions matter these days, and the opinions of the products we use influence those in our social network.  In other words, when we share our favorite brand to our friends, it’s our brand; and our brand is much more important than the opinion of a stranger (Carter, 2012).  

Social Network Marketing has an advantage over traditional business marketing in that it allows for real-time customer support.  A lot of small businesses have no customer service department, yet even a small startup company can utilize the internet and social media by assigning one of its employees the role of updating and monitoring the social media site, handling issues and answering question in real time.  The ability to monitor their website has become an invaluable benefit for the small, growing company, allowing it to inexpensively keep a finger on the pulse of the market and to adjust as necessary to grow or capture a new segment of the market. 

Product development is much easier on the internet through social media. If a business is interested in creating a new product in its existing line, or if they are seeking to re-invent an existing product, the most logical place to start the process is through social media.  Social media enables companies to gather a lot of information about a new product prior to its launch.  After the launch, it enables the business to develop the product or service even more, through free market research (How To Get Product Development Input From Your Target Market Via Your Social Media Pages, 2012).  Simply by creating a way for customers, or potential customers to provide feedback on your product, a business is getting valuable research for very little cost.

One of the advantages of using social media marketing for a business is the timeliness of it.  Social media is instant.  Update a blog or a Facebook page and it is immediately seen by everyone without raising the cost.  People are going to be talking about the changes on a daily basis, and that is the entire idea behind the marketing: getting people to talk about the product. 

Another advantage is branding ability.  Keeping the brand in front of the customers is powerfully effective.  Since customers have a nearly infinite number of products on which they can spend their money, keeping one product or company in front of them is going to generate a lot more interest. 

Instant feedback is still another advantage of social media marketing.   If there is a problem with the product or service, the customer can let the business know right away, and the business can respond just as quickly.  Resolving problems is a show of good faith for a business and customers generally appreciate honesty and timely fixes to problems.  Also, the word of mouth advertising a business gets from handling problems quickly is immeasurably valuable. 

However, the single biggest advantage in using social media marketing is the cost.  Using several websites and tying them all together by linking them to each other is going to allow the media advertising to work all day, every day and is going to reduce marketing costs.   There is simply no other avenue in which a company can reach so many customers on a daily basis with such low overhead.

Social media marketing has the ability to raise awareness through any number of collaborative projects, such as the Pepsi Refresh Project.  This project invested the brand into community building projects.  Consumers applied for grants ranging between $5,000 and $250,000 in one of six categories.  One thousand applications were accepted monthly via the website refresheverything.com, and consumers voted on the winning projects.  All in all, Pepsi gave out approximately $20 million in grants (Zmuda, 2010).  Of course, people naturally applauded Pepsi’s effort at being socially responsible, but, more importantly, the project kept Pepsi in front of the consumer for the entire year.  Marketing the project meant that Pepsi was able to show a more caring side of itself, and it helped grow consumer awareness for a variety of issues throughout the year. 

Pepsi’s marketing has traditionally been centered on entertainment.  Its advertising was typically a funny video or showed a top entertainer, but was generally enjoyable, even for people who were not fans of the soft drink.  It was also an annual contributor to the Super Bowl ads that most people excitedly looked forward to.  Customer insight for Pepsi as it relates to the Refresh Project was helpful to the company, as it provided valuable feedback to Pepsi’s management team.  People were a bit worried about the future advertising of the soft drink giant, however.

Customer insight leads to decisions in the marketing arena as more feedback is obtained.  The more customer insight that Pepsi receives the more sound its marketing decisions will be.  Customers want to be involved in product development and Pepsi gives them the opportunity to be heard.  The Refresh Project was merely one avenue that Pepsi pursued.   Without the social media presence, Pepsi would likely have been limited to what market research was available, which was probably a massive amount, but not as specific as the insights provided through their websites and Facebook pages.

For PepsiCo, the entire Refresh Project was a substantial plus as they showed a more human side to their massive company.  There is nothing wrong with the noble efforts of a giant corporation attempting to gain the public trust through acts of enormous generosity and charity.  As a matter of fact, doing such things is what the public has begun to expect in the age of relationship building.  Through the Refresh Project, Pepsi has guaranteed a new generation of fans of the soft drink and has opened up a new avenue of potential charity and community involvement that can only have a positive effect on society.  The marketing aspect of the project is evident as well.  Millennials, the generation born between the late 70’s through the early part of this century, overwhelmingly choose to spend money with a charitable company over one that is not, however, 76% of female Baby Boomers say the same thing (Manners, 2010), so it isn’t necessarily limited to the younger crowd.

Understanding what the customer expects and what they are demanding is a critical function of a marketing department.  Customer insights on what the business should be doing, offering or promoting says a lot about the direction in which the company needs to be moving.  Examining the desires of their customers helps the marketing department establish a marketing campaign.  Without those insights, or customer feedback, they cannot anticipate changes in the market with nearly as much accuracy as they can with customers directly telling them how they feel.

Social Media Marketing is a terrific tool for the smaller, startup companies to utilize, as the cost is low and the response is generally very high, given the right amount of exposure in the right areas.  However, some quite large companies are also getting involved in the social media explosion of the last few years.  These corporations have recently realized the value and power of the internet, over and above what they had been using previously.  Ford Motor Company, for instance has integrated social media into its marketing mix through a hub-and-spoke model.  Employees throughout the company are communicating with consumers in their own words (Fletcher, 2011). 

Ford Social (social.ford.com) is a website where the customer can research a variety of articles, or view pictures of vehicles they may be interested in. On this site, the potential customer can interact with other customers and review stories and articles related to their needs.  By staying in touch with their customers, Ford has opened up a new line of marketing.  They have tapped into the social media market, and are allowing their customers to play an active role in the development of their products, and their advertising.  The site features articles about the new technologies Ford is developing and also contains dozens of testimonials from customers.  The site even has a section where the customer can make idea suggestions and other visitors to the website can talk about them or vote on the ideas. 

Ford has also used social media to avoid public relations problems.  In one example, the social media strategist for Ford Motor Company, Scott Monty, discovered that Ford was threatening to sue the owner of The Ranger Station (TheRangerStation.com) over the website selling counterfeit products using the Ford logo. Instead of using a large company’s normal method of simply covering their own interests, Monty immediately began using social media to interact with the website and they worked out an agreement.  Both parties involved then used social media to talk about the issue.  Ford was able to utilize social media to prevent a public relations nightmare, and may have actually increased their customer loyalty by showing that even a giant corporation can be reasonable (Kapin, 2009).

Starbucks has been called the nation’s most socially engaged company, according to the advertising research firm PhaseOne (Benson, 2012).  Starbucks is a leader in effective social media marketing and has over eighteen million fans on Facebook.  Additionally, mystarbucksidea.force.com provides a platform for Starbucks fans to make suggestions for anything associated with the coffee chain.  For instance, the Starbucks Runner Reward began as a suggestion submitted to the website.  This program offers free coffee to the coffee ‘runner.’  The ‘hero’ who volunteered to make a Starbucks coffee run for his or her coworkers is rewarded a free drink order, when 4 other drinks are purchased (Starbucks Runner Reward, 2012). 

Creating a website for customers to suggest things they would like to see in the stores is a brilliant marketing idea.  First of all, it is going to engage the customers and keep them engaged as others talk about the ideas.  Second, people who are not already customers of the brand are able to see what new items are available and make a more informed decision about choosing a product.  As most people already know, Starbucks is a place for people to hear new music and to sit and socialize, not necessarily just to drink coffee.  People have been using Starbucks free wifi for years, and now they can suggest to the corporation any idea they would like to see implemented in the stores, and get feedback from others.

Starbucks has a tradition of using social media to talk about current events.  During the massive earthquake in Haiti, Starbucks posted videos as part of their Haiti outreach campaign, enabling customers to donate to the Red Cross in the stores (How Starbucks Uses Social Media). Starbucks engages the customer on Twitter, creating an open communication channel.  The company uploads content to their Facebook page, and invites people to events.  Facebook also provides a place for open discussion.  Starbucks allows people to embed its videos anywhere they like on the web, unlike many companies, believing it increases positive exposure of the brand (Noff, 2010). 

Surely, Social Media Marketing is the future of business and advertising, at least for the foreseeable future.  As technology improves on a daily basis, the ease by which a company can take advantage of social media to market it is going to grow as well.  The innovative nature of internet technology, the use of smart phones and tablets, such as the I-pad and Google’s Nexus, is going to provide a continued medium for advertisers to take advantage of in their marketing.  Facial recognition and virtual reality types of programs should be available in the next few years, creating a new generation of marketing potential (King).

The well prepared executive or employee is going to be familiar with the latest technology and able to provide valid and effective support for the company for which they work.  The ability to be competitive in the workplace has always been highly regarded employers and is going to lend itself to promotion and success in the business world.  Failure to stay in touch with technology advances will cause the employee to rely on others to carry them.  Because independence in the workplace is a necessary and admirable trait, failure to display independent thinking is going to slow professional growth in the individual.

Training is a huge expense at most companies and by being trained already, the employee is that much ahead of his or her contemporaries and will help them stand out as the exemplary the company needs.  Also, the advent of new technology has created the need for new positions in the workplace to manage the immense amount of data social media entails.  Larger companies need a dedicated person to fill this position.  Understanding and utilizing social media is going to help thrust the forward thinking company into the future with more success than those without the knowledge and desire to use the available technology.  The future of advertising and marketing is, indeed, very exciting.

 

 

 

Works Cited

About social snaptags. (2011). Retrieved from Social Snaptag.com: http://www.socialsnaptags.com/Home/AboutSocialSnapTags

How To Get Product Development Input From Your Target Market Via Your Social Media Pages. (2012). Retrieved from Social Media Magic: http://socialmediamagic.com/blog/product-development-input-target-market-social-media-pages/

Starbucks Runner Reward. (2012, Aug). Retrieved from Starbucks.com: http://www.starbucks.com/promo/runner-reward

Benson, L. (2012, Mar 29). Social Madness: Tops in social media? Study says it's Starbucks. Retrieved from CincyBizBlog: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2012/03/social-madness-tops-in-social-media.html

Carter, B. (2012, May 1). Social Media Is Key for Marketers (But Not How You Might Think). Retrieved from Wired.com: http://www.wired.com/business/2012/05/social-media-marketers/

Dodaro, M. (2012). 5 Reasons Social Media Marketing Works. Retrieved from Top Dog Social Media: http://topdogsocialmedia.com/5-reasons-social-media-marketing-works/

Fletcher, H. (2011, Feb). For Ford, listening to customers in SM is the new black. Target Marketing Mag.

How Starbucks Uses Social Media. (n.d.). Retrieved from practicalsocialmedia.com: http://practicalsocialmedia.com/case-studies/how-starbucks-uses-social-media-and-what-you-can-learn/

IDEO: Five Companies That Mastered Social Media’s Branding Potential. (n.d.). Retrieved from Co.Design: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663494/ideo-five-companies-that-mastered-social-medias-branding-potential

Kapin, A. (2009, Jan 19). Can Ford's New Social Media Strategy Help It Become the Leading Social Automotive Brand? Retrieved from Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/1143059/can-fords-new-social-media-strategy-help-it-become-leading-social-automotive-brand

King, R. (n.d.). Inventing the Future of Computing. Bloomberg Businessweek, p. 31.

Manners, T. (2010, Feb 1). The Pepsi Conversation. The Hub Magazine.

Noff, A. (2010, Jan 11). The Starbucks Formula for Social Media Success. Retrieved from The Next Web: http://thenextweb.com/2010/01/11/starbucks-formula-social-media-success/

Zmuda, N. (2010, Feb 8). Pass or fail, Pepsi's Refresh will be case for marketing textbooks. Advertising Age, pp. 1-18.

The Purpose

I sometimes meet very interesting people in my job.  If you come to my office, it's because you're leaving the navy, either because it's time to retire, you're simply ready to move on or, most recently, because you're being released.  I may complain about what I do, about the quality of the work some of my co-workers do and about the lack of pay for the amount of work expected, but I always try to find some common ground with my customers, and I'm usually successful.  By the time they leave my office, even if they are grumpy when they arrive, the customer is more often than not much happier and at ease.

Today I had a young man who is being released from the navy, even though he was planning on making it a career.  He was reading a book which I asked about.  The book was entitled 'Circle Maker (a religious book).'  He was nervous about everything going on (a whirlwind of things to do and plans to make) since he only found out about being released 2 weeks ago.  As we were going over his DD214, I remebered that he had been awarded a very high medal.  It was the Navy/ Marine Corps Medal.  I asked him how he was awarded that.  Apparently, he saw a vehicle on fire on the freeway, stopped to see if he could help, and pulled a four year old child from the fire and almost certain death.  The father was already dead, but had sacrificed his own life to cover his child.  I don't know all the details, but the end result was a child was saved and the sailor was awarded a life saving medal- a very big deal.

Naturally, a couple of weeks ago, he was told that he was not being retained in the service.  My first reaction was, [in my best sarcastic voice] "of course, why would the navy want to keep sailors that put aside their own safety for the life of someone they don't even know?" The sailor told me he was thinking about going into the ministry, but he wasn't sure yet.  "Sounds like God is helping you make that decision,"  I told him, to which he thanked me for verifying what he was already thinking.

After this man left my office, I started thinking about why we meet certain people.  Why are specific people put on our path at specific times, seemingly when we need something, whether it be just a word of encouragement, or hope or just a pat on the back?  I'm convinced that we have a larger purpose on this earth and sometimes we may not realize it.  This morning I was riding the bus to work and thoughts of my father, who died in October, 1974, popped into my head.  I had to smile, as for a moment or two, I knew that he was somehow looking down on me.  It's not that I don't think of my father often, I do.  Everyday.  However, today it was almost as if he was speaking to me.  And then to have this young man come into my office and share his experience with me just tells me that there's a reason for everything in this short life. It's all very encouraging.

Why I'll never try another Multi-Level Marketing company.

The year is 2011, it's mid winter.  A friend of mine calls me and asks my opinion on a part time business he's thinking about buying into.  My interest is piqued, so I ask him a little more about it.  He says he's still learning about it, but explains to me what it entails.  It sounds interesting, so I ask him a few more questions.  Telephone service, to start with, then some other services that everyone uses everyday.  I'm getting a little more interested and ask if it's expensive.  He tells me it's $500 to join.  He has yet to invite me to one of 'those' meetings, he hasn't asked me to join, nor if I even would use the services.  He simply asked my opinion.  Well, before I knew it, I went to his house to see a presentation by one of the 'top performers' in the company, and before the night was over, I was sold!  I was going to be rich!  This was the easiest thing in the world!  All I would have to do is tell some people about the company, get a few of them to sign up, and all my money troubles would soon be a distant memory!  The crazy thing is that I completely forgot the old adage "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."  How could I go wrong? 

First thing's first.  I had to convince my wife... she wasn't convinced, but let me go ahead and buy into it, anyway.  I can't believe how excited I was when I first joined!  $500 was all I needed to become ridiculously wealthy.  Well, I used $500 from our savings account to sign up... and then I was told to go ahead and get the Back Office, a handy website that would allow me to track all my future success, track my down line, track all my customers, learn more about the company and how to present it, blah, blah, blah, for a mere $30 per month.  Oh, I would also need to buy a $200 video phone- of course, that could wait, if necessary- and I would also need to have the digital phone service for another $30 per month.  Oh, and I would also need to give up my cable television and go with satellite TV, breaking up my bundle and costing me another few dollars per month.  All told, I think I was already into this company for almost $1000 (I didn't do it all right away, but most of it within the first couple of weeks).

I was still excited.  These professionals were going to show me how to talk to people, how to make calls to friends and acquaintances, how to handle rejection, etc.  The very next day, there was a top performer from Maryland coming down to do a special presentation- a business meeting.  Before the meeting started, the guy that signed me up sat down with  me to do the 'start-up.'  He explained a lot of things to me, but the one thing that stood out at the time was when he told me how people would promise to come to your meeting and then not show up.  They'd always have an excuse: I had to work late, the car wouldn't start, my liver fell out (he actually said that, in a joking manner).  Then he added "You know ACN is the number one reason for livers falling out."  We got a chuckle out of that.  I was still in a state of euphoric happiness... I knew that I was going to be the exception.  I was going to stick with it until it Worked! 

I was excited when the Team Coordinator (that's the level Brian has achieved, about 4 levels above where I was) told me that I would do a PBR (Private Business Reception), on Tuesday, 5 days from now.  Cool.  I started calling people the next day and my first PBR had 2 people show up, neither of whom joined.  Nor did either of them sign up for my services.  Oh, Well.  I started working on my next PBR, scheduled for a few days later.  One person showed up for that one.  And the next one as well.  No one showed up for the next one.  Now I was starting to feel a little frustration. What was really very little help was my mentors asking me questions like, "What are you saying to them?" or "Don't try to explain it to them." or "Let's do some role playing and I'll show you how to get them to your house."  BS.  None of those things worked.  What did work, for a minute, was the presentation I did via three way calling.  Actually, I initiated the call, then brought in the person doing to presentation.  It worked!  I got my first representative!  I was excited again.  I also had a line on a few more people that were likely going to sign up.  Well, once I got my new rep all signed up, we scheduled their first PBR, but they cancelled it at the last minute.  They rescheduled it.  And cancelled that one, too.  I asked them if they needed any help and they said no, but they were going to be doing a PBR at their church- more excitement... and subsequently, more disappointment.  They didn't seem to be moving at all.  They began to avoid my calls and I couldn't get any informationfrom them.  I heard form them less and less. They eventually stopped returning my texts and I couldn't get a hold of them at all.  Too bad.

I never heard from them again.  My own enthusiasm was waning now.  I was encouraged to go to the weekly 'training' where I would supposedly learn to do what I was already supposed to know how to do.  For this privilege, I paid $5 per week. Backing up a little to when I first joined, I was encouraged to sign up for the international event in Charlotte, NC.  BETTER SIGN UP NOW, IT WILL BE SOLD OUT!!!! I really couldn't afford it, but I decided that I'd go.  I roomed with someone else and we split the costs three ways.  My trip cost me $150 for the convention, and $165 for the gas and room.  I also ate pretty well while I was there and spent about $150 on food and drink.  The day we got back, I was hounded about the next convention that was scheduled for San Jose, CA... "Have you signed up for San Jose, yet?"  Don't wait too long, IT WILL SELL OUT!!  (I heard that same exclamation for each of the conventions.)

It was shortly after the first convention I went to (I should say ONLY convention I went to) that I started realizing what was happening to me.  I took a step back and realized that the reason they keep you so busy, so entrenched in 'the business' is so you won't start thinking for yourself too much.  You see, once you start thinking for yourself, you see it.  The Big Picture.  Everything happens so fast, everything is structured to keep your brain focused on the prize, and not on the effort.  It was fun, at first, meeting people who'd made a few $Million in this business.  It was cool seeing the founders who had the dream and put it into action.  It was even cool to think about how I was going to make it work for my wife and me.  But the more I thought about how they kept me 'engaged' the more I realized they didn't want me thinking too much.  Thinking is dangerous.  It was about this time I started avoiding the phone calls from my up line.  I simply didn't want to be hounded about having a PBR.  I simply got tired of having to answer the same questions to the same people. "Is there anything I can do for you?", "When are we going to have another PBR?", "Is there anyone I can talk to for you?"  It simply got tiresome.

I still wasn't ready to quit.  The company made the services better and the money better every month.  Bigger bonuses for signing up new reps, new and additional services.  "Maybe this month" I kept on thinking.  I lost a lot of sleep doing this 'job.'  Some nights, when I should have been sleeping, I would awaken to thoughts of "Who can I call?",  "What if I can't get anyone to sign up?", etc.  I was losing sleep and it got old.  It ceased to be fun, but I still wasn't ready to quit.  I made it clear to my mentors that I would not break my cell phone contract.  period.  When the contract is up, I'll look into getting my cell phones through the company, not a moment before.
August of 2011, I called the company and set up my new cell phone plan.  My wife and I decided on the new Verizon phone, and we were able to get it through this company.  It was a new cell phone, so we paid full price for it.  We also bought the warranty with it, as we were told, it would be "the same warranty that you had with Verizon."  All told, it cost me just shy of $600 for these phones.  Of course, my mentor was telling me I should also get the air card and anything else I could get for the business, as it all would help me make money (as if spending $500 to make $25 is 'making money').  Well, I didn't go that far.  We got our new phones and all was well.  We were using Verizon phones (I've always had Verizon, I like them, I realize others don't or have their own favorite, that's not what this is about), using Verizon networks and paying our bills to Verizon- albeit through this company.  Life was good.  Until my wife's phone started acting strange.  It would cycle on and off repeatedly and she couldn't get it to stop.  We took it to the Verizon store, where the techs were very friendly and professional.  They looked the phone over and tweaked it here and there, and gave it back.  It started cycling again.  We took it to another Verizon store.  They tried something else that didn't work.  Then I called Verizon directly to see what I needed to do to get the phone fixed or replaced.  This is when we found out about our warranty.

First of all, Verizon sent us a replacement phone.  They also told us that we would have to go through our company to do any further service on it, because we didn't buy it from Verizon.  I was a little upset.  We were told, and the company touts the fact that you get service through you phone company, not through ACN.  I took that to mean that I could return my phone to Verizon and there would be no problem. After all, that's what I learned in training over the months.  Surely an upstanding, well established company like ACN wouldn't be putting out false information to their customers, right?  OK, So I'll just call the ACN customer service line and figure this out. I called the custoer service line and the representative, who was clearly reading her responses form a computer screen, informed me that I would have to put in a request for service (RFS) and I would have to do that via the website that she gave me.  No amount of my explainations seemed to help here.  I was talking to a woman that obviously did not speak English as a first language, she was clearly not going to do much to help me- a representative of this company- resolve the issue with the phone.  So I pulled up the website she directed me to and found out the following:
1) I would have to send an email to the warranty company explaining the problem with the phone.
2) I would have to wait an unspecified amount of time while they made a determination as to whether the problem was covered by the warranty.
3) If they agreed to cover the phone, I would then have to pack it up and ship it to them.  They would then fix the phone and send it back.  My wife would be without her phone for several weeks (potentially).

This was completely unacceptible to me and was the issue that finally pushed me out of ACN.  I made a decision at that point that I could not, in good conscience, ask my friends or family to join this organization.  They obviously do not take good care of their customers.  I thought I was done with the company at this point.  I called them to make double sure that they were not going to auto renew my annual membership ($150).  They assured me that I would not get charged and that was that.  So I thought.  A month goes by and as I'm checking my account, I see a charge from ACN.  Hmm, what could this be?  We have phone service for another year or so, so maybe that's it.  My wife confirms that the charge is NOT for the phone, it gets paid from a different account.  The only other thing it could be for is the Back Office.  So I called the customer service line the following day and was told that my Back Office was charged. They leave that account open,  "in case you change your mind."  I informed the representative that I had told them previously I was not renewing, which she confirmed over the phone, as they had put that into my account information and they assured me there would be no charges.  The Back Office is a separate account that you have to specifically tell them to cancel or they leave it open.  So it looks like I'm out $30 more. I was charged for an item that I couldn't use, even if I wanted to.  I tried to get into my account but the splash screen informed me that I had to "Renew Right Away."  There was no option to go to any portion of the Back Office. Customer service told me that my only option was to fax them a grievance letter.  Apparently, this hi-tech company doesn't get emails.  Go figure. 

If you've read up to this point, I would like to point out that my intention was not to disparage ACN.  Of course, the more I talk about it, the madder I get, so it may sound disparaging, and maybe it is.  But it wasn't my intention.  I have no problem with the MLM system.  It can work, but I could no longer see myself putting in the time and effort that it requires.  I grew tired of people that I was trying to call on the phone ignoring my calls.  I saw the somewhat successful people in my area putting in a lot of hours, dedicating their lives to this program and having very little time for anything else.  I could no longer see the brass ring; all I saw was people dedicating their lives and a good portion of their personal resources in the hopes of becoming one of the (very) few that make it big.  And by 'big' I mean "Quit my job and do this full time" big, not "Oh look, I got a check for $12." 

Poor customer service and not living up to the standards of what I expected are what really pushed me over the edge and made me want out.  The disappointment in not seeing any success is what got me thinking about getting out.  This type of work is not for everyone.  You seriously have to embrace rejection.  I'm not very good at that.

Retirees and the DD214, Week ending Jan27th

I separated about 15 people this week.  Friday was the busiest I've been in while; I had 4 appointments. Some of the people that stood out in my mind are what I'm writing about today.

First, and most memorable, is the master chief petty officer from Friday.  Anytime I see a master chief, I have one of 2 expectation: They are either very laid back or they are very formal.  Most of them are of the laid back variety, and Friday's visitor certainly fit that mold.  This particular sailor only had about 22 years in the navy.  That may seem like a long time, but the fact is, the most Senior position for enlisted men in the navy is E9- Master Chief Petty Officer- and most of them have been in the navy for well past 20 years when they retire.  Heck, most master chiefs stay in for the whole 30 years.  This guy was ready to go.  He was friendly, accommodating and very likable.  I asked him if he had aspirations of being a Command Master Chief, to which he replied with an emphatic, "No."  He told me he didn't like shaking hands and kissing babies (not a politician), and he was too much of a 'tell it like it is' kind of guy.  This is the kind of mentor that I wish I'd had in my time in the navy- demanding, but fair and a no-nonsense leadership style.  The old fashioned "work hard and play hard" kind of chief.  Of course, everything I hear form my customers is subjective, in that I haven't read their evaluations, nor can I confirm what they tell me, but after so many years of being around sailors, you get to know different types of folks and can usually spot BS from a long way off.

I had to do a medical separation for a sailor this week, too.  This was a young sailor who'd had a tough time.  He had some mental issues.  I know this because he told me.  I read the information given to me in these circumstances, because, let's face it, I have a normal curiosity and want to know why people are being separated.  However, this person's information was minimal, so I had no idea why he was being medically retired, just that he was getting out and would be getting a retirement check.  He had no problem telling me that he suffered some sort of mental breakdown, so I simply nodded at the appropriate moments and listened to what he had to say.  He was simply a mess (this is my opinion).  While he seemed to be functional, he seemed to want to embellish everything he said.  We've all been around that type of person... always building on the story.  At first, this person starts out by saying he did 'x' and before you know it, he's the best at 'x' and people from other commands are coming to him to help them with their 'x' and the whole community couldn't function without his 'x.'  After about 1 minute of this, I realized this was just a sad little guy with not much self esteem.  And a very long, tough life ahead of him.  The one thing that stuck out for me about him was his claim that he was a wrestler in the 150lb class (in high school), but needed to get into the 200lb class, and did so by eating steak, bought for the team by the coach.  Yet he made 200lbs without being fat- he was in shape.  He didn't give me a time frame, but I know that in my entire 4 years of high school, I only gained about 20lbs (OK, 30).  Oh, and he lost 20lbs in 2 weeks (to make another weight class, I guess).  Like I said, this type of person deserves a little sympathy, not disdain, so keep that in mind.

I also separated a guy that had simply decided to get out after being in the navy for 9 years.  He wasn't bitter or angry at all, he just wanted a change.  I say good for him. 

I have to do 2 appointments with many of the sailors I talk to.  The first is to give them a working copy of the DD214 they can fax to the reserve community.  The second is to provide them a finished DD214.  This is the process for Perform to Serve, PTS, separations.  Big navy wants the manning numbers at a certain level, so a bunch of sailors are being shown the door, so to speak. "Thanks for your service, but we simply don't need you anymore."  It's hard to believe the military is handing out pink slips, but it is the reality.  The up side of the process is that the sailors that have 6 years or more can get some separation pay.  Simply put, they either get half or full separation pay. In order to get full separation, the sailor has to have passed their last rating exam, be recommended for retention on the latest eval (I know, recommended for retention, yet being shown the door?  Go figure), and they have to re-enlist in the reserves.  If they don't do these few things, they only get half the money.  As an example, assume the sailor has exactly 6years when he gets out.  The formula is total number of months served (72) x base pay ($2662/ mo for E5 this year) x .10 (10%). In our example this comes out to $19,166.40, or $9,583.20 (5%) if they don't meet all the requirements for full sep pay.  Using the same formula, an E6 with 14 years would end up getting $58,732.80 or $29,366.40, respectively.  While that may sound like a pretty good deal, and in many ways it is, these people aren't problem sailors.  Most of them are stellar performers, great leaders and have a wealth of experience that the navy is going to be without.  Most of these sailor, especially the ones with 14 years of service, are in career mode. They've given up a lot over the years for the country.  They've missed birthdays, anniversaries, Christmases, graduations, funerals and countless other memories.  I hate that they aren't being given the opportunity to finish their career, since they were committed to doing exactly that.  Too bad the navy has to let them go.  On the other hand, I have to commend the sailors for not being angry, especially at me.  Seriously, though, I'm sure most of them have already been through their angry stage by the time they get to my desk, and they are largely OK with where they are, and where they're headed.  Also, a large number of them have already landed a pretty good job.  Most of them a better job than mine. Which makes me question my own decisions throughout my career.

23 Years ago today...

I was a 23 year old young man with aspirations of being something more.  It was January 23, 1989.  I had spent the night in a cheap motel, under the watchful eyes of the MEPS folks.  MEPS is military speak for Military Entrance Processing Station.  It's the last civilian thing you get to see before being sent off to basic training (Boot Camp).  The night before, I could barely sleep.  I was excited and scared.  I had already shaved my moustache off but my hair was long and bushy.  I resembled Carrot Top before anyone had ever heard of him, and many, MANY years before the steroided version of him came along.  I had a wife at the time, and a 1 year old son, whom I already missed after only a few hours (I  missed my wife, too- a little).  I tried to get some sleep, but it was hard.  The excitement and fear kept me awake for a good portion of the night, and the noise from fellow travellers didn't help much.

Morning came, much too early, and it sounded like the loudest telephone in the history of telephones.  The rooms were all set to automatically call for the morning round-up.  I got up, washed my face and brushed my teeth, found some breakfast and was ready to go.  It didn't take long for us to get herded into the bus to take us all to the processing station for the second time.  The first time for most of us was when we were getting our physical done for entry into the navy.  In my case, it was 2 months prior, and it was also the time I got to pick my job.  At least I knew what I was joining for, and I was excited about learning electronics.  Of course, the first thing I had to do was get through 9 weeks of boot camp...

At the MEPS center that morning, we all went into the building and took care of a few last minute things.  Mostly, we all just waited around for our time to leave.  That time came soon enough.  It was shortly after we were sworn in for the second time.  Most people don't realize that there are 2 times a new recruit swears in: the first is when he or she is done with the physical and has chosen a field, and the second right before heading off to boot camp.  As an E3 ( I had enough college credits to join the navy as an E3 as opposed to E1), I was the senior guy for our group of 10 or so recruits, so the person in charge gave me everyones records and told me to give them to the person incharge once we got to San Diego- this was 1989 and there were three boot camps: San Diego, Orlando (where all the females went) and Chicago.  It was winter time and I was lucky enough to get to go to San Diego, for wich I received a lot of grief from the poor souls that got stuck in Chicago. In January.  Haha.  Suckers...

It was an uneventful trip for us in the plane.  My only luggage was my toothbrush and the clothes I was wearing.  My recruiteer was (the exception, and not the rule) one that made sure I was mentally prepared, and he told me much of what to expect, though not everything was exactly as he described it.  He was right in telling me to leave everything at home.  Some people show up with luggage, several days worth of clothes, etc, only to find out their recruiters were full of sh... not quite true stuff.  I knew it was going to suck, I also knew not to bring stuff I was not going to be allowed to use for God knows how long.  Once we landed in San Diego, life as we knew it suddenly seemed like a different time. 

We were grabbed up as soon as we got off the plane by the good folks at RTC/NTC San Diego. That's Recruit Training Center/ Navy Training Center San Diego, for those who don't speak military.  Nobody shouted at us yet, so I was a little surprised.  We were put onto a bus, where the driver, dressed in dungarees- the precursor to the navy utility working uniform, which was the precursor to their current cammo style of woking uniform- told us to have a seat.  that from this point forward everything we said was to be preceeded and followed by "Sir."  Still, no one had yelled at us, althought he bus driver was stern and impersonal.  Once we got to the facility, a short ride form the airport, we got off the us and lined up at which point we were pointed toward a bank of pay phones and told to "call home and let your loved ones know you're here, you're safe and you will call them again as soon as you can."

From this point on, everything-EVERYTHING- was structured.  We got in line to get our hair cut, we got in line to get our uniforms issued to us, we stood in line for chow.  It was during this time that we began to break the molds of our civilian lives and to learn how to be sailors.  We were conitinually told to "get your hands out of your pockets!"  Funny thing about not having your hands in your pockets is you realize that the muscles in your shoulders have atrophied and there is some discomfort in your arms hanging at your sides for a couple of days. Give it a try: let your arms hang at your sides; no pockets, no hands on hips.  We were herded through paperwork, medical (yes, more medical stuff), uniforms, chow and finally a couple of hours of sleep.  By now it's sometime after midnight and we've all been up for about 20+ hours.  We've had our heads shaved and we're all tired, scared and lonely.  We can't really talk to each other, so it's too early to try making friends. 

This was day one.  It's funny how many details you can remember, even after 23 years.  It was a long day, to be sure, but utterly important in the development of a sailor.  From day one we learned to pay attention to the little details.  As a matter of fact, if there is one thing I would say about basic training, it's that everything comes down to "Attention to Detail." 

***I realized after I posted this that the date said 24 January.  I wrote it on the 23rd.

Retirees and the DD214

Well, it's Friday and another week has come and gone in the exciting world of... OK, let's be real.  My job isn't all that exciting.  It does, however, give me the opportunity to talk to a lot of interesting people.  This week I've had a number of interesting folks come across my desk.  Not literally, mind you.  If people are actually coming across my desk, I need to take a look at how I am treating them. 

First, there's the ET1 that decided to get out of the navy a few months early (about 10 years into his career).  When I got the initial paperwork, it seemed to me that the member was on the fast track to making chief.  I wondered why he was calling it quits.  He's a stellar performer with a lot of qualifications in the submarine community.  His skills are easily transferable to civilian life, so maybe he got a job offer that he simply couldn't pass up.  Whatever the case may be, it's too bad he's getting out.  The navy still needs good leadership.  Well, as it turns out, this guy has actually 'been there, done that.'  He worked at Camp David- yes, that one- as one of the equipment technicians.  His networking skills landed him a position with the Secret Service!  Very cool.  So, even though he's going to be travelling a lot in his new career, he'll be living the dream, as they say.

Also this week, I had an ADSEP.  That's Administrative Separation, usually a bad thing.  And in this young woman's case, it was.  She seemingly could not stay out of trouble.  She was a Master-at-Arms, or MA. The MA rating is the navy's version of  military police.  It used to be a rating that you had to request to transfer to once you had a few years experience in the service.  Very few people could simply join the navy as a Master-at-Arms, and the ones that did were usually policemen on the outside before they joined.  This practice ensured the navy that the people that carry guns and had arrest authority were mature, responsible people, and not an 18 year old fresh out of high school.  I see the wisdom in this.  Well, shortly after the 9-11 tragedy, the navy had a great need for fresh MAs, so they opened the rate up to everyone.  Basically, you could be a 19 year old cop, in a foreign country with a ton of responsibility, and not necessarily a lot of mentorship.  In the case of this young woman, that seems like what happened.  Here you have a relatively smart young person, without much life experience, in a foreign country where the drinking age is 18.  Well, since she really didn't know her own limitations, she probably didn't have a clue she was headed down the wrong path.  I'm certain she was given the opportunity to fix her shortcomings.  Perhaps she didn't think there was anything wrong with her.  Too bad.  Now she has been eradicated from the ranks and is going to lose a considerable amount of her benefits.  Of course, I'm speculating as to the reason for her troubles.  It may not have had anything to do with alcohol, but what little paperwork I had indicated that booze was a likely accomplice to her problems.  For what it's worth, I hope she doesn't continue her destructive behavior outside the navy.

I got the opportunity to talk to a couple of retiring sailors, too.  One was a chief (E7) and had about 12 years of sea time!  12 years out of 20 he was on board a ship.  I have to say, that's a lot of time away from your family!  There's quite a bit of dedication involved in a career like that.  Sure, out of that 12 years, he may have only done five or six deployments, but to be perfectly honest, shipboard life is tough, even when you're in port, tied to the pier.  Watches, qualifications, duty sections, fire drills, training, dry-dock (or 'yard') periods and the work-up cycle all make for many hours of overtime, even when you're technically 'at home.'

On Friday, I had the opportunity to talk to a PO2 (E5) that was retiring after 20 years.  She was one of a dying breed.  You see, for years and years the navy allowed E5s to retire at 20 years with full retirement benefits. Well, around 2004ish, they changed their high year tenure rules.  Now an E5 that doesn't make E6 within 14 years has to get out at 14 years- no retirement.  The E5s that were already E5s by the time the new rule took effect were grand-fathered in, so they wouldn't be processed out.  Those folks are becoming less and less common.  To be honest, most people make First Class (PO1 or E6) prior to hitting the 14 year mark, but there are a few that don't make it, and even fewer that are going to make it all the way to retirement.  This particular sailor was very excited to be leaving the service.  She loved the navy, as we all do, but she was ready to leave... I guess her final command wasn't very good to her.  She was one of the most well-prepared people I've had the opportunity to sit with through this process.  She had all her paperwork with her and properly filled out.  She already knew most of the information and even had her household goods shipment in the process.  This certainly makes my job a lot easier, I only had to answer a couple of questions for her.  I enjoy people like her.  I get to spend more time on a personal level with them, instead of being the federal employee automaton most people envision when I tell them what I do for a living.

1 Week Down

Well, after a week of eating right and exercising, I've managed to lose a whopping 2 pounds...

I have to admit, that's more than a little discouraging.  I think I know why, though. First, when I say 'eating right' I am really only talking about quantity.  I worry less about what I am eating as I do about the calorie count.  Once I get used to eating less, I'll adjust my intake to be a little healthier.  Actually, I eat pretty healthy already, though I realize there is room for improvement (less sodium, more lean protein, etc). 

Historically, once I cut the sweets from my diet, and the cravings go away, after about three or four days, the rest is fairly easy.  I haven't had any sweets since January 2, so I no longer crave them at this point.  However, I still eat an egg almost every morning.  I make myself an egg wrap, using a tortilla (yes, the kind made with lard and flour, found in any grocery store- about 120 calories each), a serving of egg whites (which I buy in a pint size carton), and one medium sized egg.  I tried to use just egg whites, but the consistency of the omelette doesn't hold up too well; it falls apart while I'm trying to flip it.  So one egg at about 100 calories added to a serving of egg whites at a whopping 25 calories, plus some sea salt (ahh, the evil part of my breakfast), salsa and onion powder, a 1/4 cup of cheese.  The whole thing weighs in at a tremendous 300-ish calories.  I also, and drink a pot of coffee (way too much, according to some) -14 calories total, without cream or sugar, and take some vitamins and supplements each day. Total: 359 calories.

When I go to work, I take with me a few talismans to use against the mid-morning hunger monster. I pack my bag with some yogurt (2 @ 80 calories each), an apple, a banana and some carrots.  I also make myself a sandwich.  So my 'healthy diet' is riddled with some things many fitness experts might frown on: bread (2 slices at 120calories total), lunch meat, whose sodium content is pretty high (can't think of an appropriate simile at the moment), and cheese (a meal without cheese is like a day without sunshine- there's your simile). Still, my sandwich fills my belly and prevents me from buying fast food or chips from the vending machine, so it's a win for me. I spread my snacking out throughout the day, sometimes eating my apple or carrots on the ride home.

Tho whole point is, I try to be proactive in this diet thing.  Truthfully, I'm not 'dieting' so much as I'm changing the way I eat.  Watching tv in the evening is a challenge, as I'm used to munching on chips or whatever, and washing it down with soda (although I've been drinking diet soda for years, so no calories, per se, but a separate issue with the aspartame in it, which I'd like to discuss at another time).  Point is, I have to find a way to occupy both my mind and my hands so I am not so tempted to fill them with comfort foods.  Luckily, I have a smart phone and some pretty cool games to play- sorry 'Angry Birds' fans, I'd rather play sudoku.

You see, I'm actually eating several times a day, but just directing my intake toward more wholesome foods. Dinner is probably the least healthy thing I eat.  I've been trying to stick with Lean Cuisine type dinners.  They are tasty... OK, they taste good enough.  Still, the sodium content is pretty high in any manufactured food: soup being the worst offender (probably), followed by everything else.  Still, a 300 calorie dinner, combined with a small, steamed bag of veggies is usually enough to get me throught the evening. If Istill need something to munch on, there are a few choices on the market these days: Special K chips are my current choice (120 calories for a serving of 27 chips), which, after not having sweets or fat or bad carbs all week, are simply delicious!

All these food choices are not the best available.  I know this.  I will eventually take a look at how I cook foods, I'll learn to make some different meats and fresh vegetables and I'll probably find a more holistic approach to eating- Eventually.  For now, I'm happy to be losing a few pounds.  I'm even more happy that I'm not starving to death, which is why most diets fail.
Losing weight is really much simpler than most people realize.  Once you cut out the industry's attempts to sell you the latest diet, you'll see the simplicity of it.  What the fitness industry does not tell you is that you can lose weight by simply eating less calories than you burn each and every day. That's the secret.  The truth is, you could eat Twinkies every day (I prefer the Little Debbie snack cake diet, personally), and as long as your body burns more calories than the Twinkies you eat, you'll lose weight. You'll be increasingly unhealthy if you eat only sweets, but the concept is the same: burn more calories than you consume.  Twinkies, by the way, each have about 150 calories. The problem is that one is never enough!

My daily allownce of calories, according to the program I set up previously, using myfitnesspal.com is 1730.  This amount will allow me to lose about 2lbs oer week.  If I exercise, I get more calories.  So, if I run 3 or 4 miles that day, I get a considerable amount of additional calories.  This might allow me to eat a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich as a treat once in a while without moving backwards. 

For what it's worth, this is the exact opposite of my approach to paying off the bills:  Spend less than you make.

Keeping track of my New Year's Resolutions

We all know that these resolutions are usually doomed to failure, so this year, I've decided to put myself on the hot seat and make my resolutions stick- or, at the very least, allow myself to be held accountable.  My resolutions are fairly basic.  I haven't smoked in several years, and I quit drinking more than 20 years ago, so what else could I possibly need to change?  Believe it or not, I have a couple things I don't really like very much about myself.
1) I have to make myself more impressive to potential employers.  Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have a job and I like what I am doing, for the most part.  Simply put, I don't feel like this is where I should be at this stage of my life.  Sort of an, "Is this as good as it gets?" feeling (thanks, Jack Nicholson). 

So what am I doing to change this? First off, I bought the book "What Color is Your Parachute." Second, and more importantly, I'm reading the book and doing to exercises in it to determine where my true passion lies, hopefully leading me to a much fuller career.  Third, I'm being more proactive in my current job; I actually ask my customers to say nice stuff about me in our online survey, I network with many of them and ask about their future plans.  Finally, I'm trying to step outside of my comfort zone in my job, continuing to learn what I can and improve the whole process in the separations division.

2) Lose weight.  This is probably the single most failed resolution in the world.  Why?  Because it isn't specific enough.  I look at myself in the mirror and I do not like what I see.  I've let myself gain too much weight over the holidays and now it's time to get rid of the pounds.  In light of this, let me say that I want to lose 30 pounds.  This year.

Losing weight is easy. I can lose 5 pounds fairly quickly.  The problem is that I seem to be losing the same 5 pounds every few months!  Gaining the weight back comes even easier than losing it.  How can I break this cycle?  Well, having a support system is a good start.  I'm not talking about someone that's going to nag me into losing weight.  That'll never work.  I'm talking about having a partner who's as invested as I am in this endeavor.  The main thing I have to do is watch what I eat.  No more eating just to be eating.  That's foolishness for a man of my age.  When I was a kid, and even as a young adult, I could eat anything and never gain weight.  I miss those days!  However, I have to be more mature about it.  I simply can't eat the way I did when I was younger.  I use this program to monitor what I eat:
myfitnesspal
It's a simple program and I even have it on my smart phone.  Exercise is an important part of weight control as well. Having a program that involves other people makes it more of a team function, and not just a 'me against the world' challenge.

3) Pay off at least one large bill this year.  I'm not nearly as bad off as some are, but there's a lot of room for improvement in this area.  We- my wife and I- really only have 4 big bills, outside of our house and the regular stuff (insurance, utilities, etc, don't factor in this).  This is a much more personal matter, but I don't mind sharing the fact that it's TIME to get started on this.  This has been very important to me for a few years now and I've decided that this is the year we are going to get the ball rolling (it's also the year I was able to get my wife committed to the idea as well- can't do it without her). 

I've been a fan of Dave Ramsey for a long time.  His ideals are well-founded and make a lot of sense.  Dave's philosophy about being debt free isn't unique, nor is it the only way to accomplish this goal, but I find it to be the simplest method for becoming debt free, and the method I plan on using. 

These are my 2012 goals.  Not overwhelming enough to be burdensome, but challenging enough to keep me on my toes. Here's to a successful 2012!!!!!!!