The Obvious Truth: Jun 8, 2008

job interview - the obvious truth

Here's an obvious truth.

When in an interview, the question will be asked: Why should I hire you? I've interviewed other people already for this position. Why you?

As the General Manager of a high volume business, I interview a lot of people.... so speaking from experience, yes this question will be asked.

To prepare yourself, check out this article about The Big Question.

anti virus obvious truth

Here's an obvious truth: You need to run an anti virus protection program on your computer.

So with so many anti virus solutions to choose from, which one do I use?

I dig free solutions that work great, and my personal choice is avast anti virus. It's what I use. The free version is linked. There is a free home edition and free linux edition.

adware and spyware obvious truth

Here's an obvious truth:

You have adware and spyware on your computer.

If you've ever installed "free" software or "shareware" that you've downloaded, it's a given. Your computer is infected to some degree. Hey, it is what it is.

So here's the solution: Download Ad-ware from Lavasoft. It's free, for real.... and I use it on my computers. It utilizes a lot of resources on your system when it's doing its thing, so run it and walk away and come back later.

It will help you keep the adware and spyware in check on your system, and your computer should run better without all that spyware bogging down your system resources.

What makes a Leader? The obvious truth

So what makes a Leader?

The obvious truth:
First of all, a Leader must have followers. If nobody is willing to follow you, you aren't a leader.

This is my test on whether you have followers or not. If your company were to open a new location 5 miles away and your people could transfer to work with you if they wanted to... would they?

Next, a Leader chooses to do what's right and not what's easy. It's a rare instance where both are the same, right and easy.

A Leader has great people skills and treats people great. Not good. GREAT! There is a difference.

Finally, a Leader must have the ability to motivate people to perform at a higher level, out of respect, not out of fear.

All four of the above need to be present for a successful leader.

The obvious truth about smoking and quitting smoking

Okay, here's the deal. You are going to do what you want to do. I'm going to point out the obvious truth(s) as I see it from my own life experience.

Obvious truth: smoking cigarettes is highly addictive.

I smoked cigarettes since I was a kid (teen) and I've quit a handful of times. Throughout the years I never ever thought to myself: "Man, am I glad that I started smoking when I was a teen!" On the contrary, I always knew it was a bad idea and that I was addicted to cigarettes. When you think about it, who has ever looked back at their life and thought, "I wish I would have started smoking cigarettes sooner." ??

One Sunday about 6 months ago I woke up strong. (This is the only way I can describe it.) I woke up with the thought, "Today, I will stop smoking." I'm not sure what clicked in my head, but I knew at that point, I was ready to stop.

Knowing that I was addicted to nicotine, I went to the pharmacy to purchase nicotine gum.

The hardest part was breaking habits associated with smoking.

I had to learn to not smoke in the car. (this could be the most difficult habit to learn)
I had to learn to not take smoke breaks at work.
I had to learn how to take deep breaths and hold my breath

Here's one for you. Had anyone told me to quit, I would not have quit. Human nature.

To not smoke is a choice that I had to make on my own.

So when did it get easy? It has not, really. Every day I want to smoke "just one". But every day that passes, actually makes me stronger to not make an exception.

If I break down now and smoke one, I know that I will continue smoking. That's how addictive smoking is. In fact, I'm not completely sold on the not smoking thing - but I'm at the point right now where I just refuse to make the one exception. I don't even use nicotine gum anymore, however I keep one piece around "just in case".

So let me end this post with this obvious truth:
I used to purchase 2-3 packs of cigs per week, spending an average of $10-$15 per week on cigarettes. Now I don't. That is a yearly savings of $520-$780 per year.