Take This Survey: Self-Evaluation Is Necessary For Self-Growth and Social Evolution.

Blue Thing #1: TNNW Surveys, Analyses and Findings/ Market Research.

Why? Because people are absolutely obsessed with what other people are thinking.

Why? Because feedback helps us to refine our strategies and change our trajectories.

Why? Because The National Networker Companies want you and your business to know your client audience and to constantly monitor changes in their attitudes, buying habits and needs.

(cue drumroll.......)

Take TNNW SURVEY #6

(Polls open 3/9, and close on 4/15)

Click toTake Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/TNNWsurvey6  

TNNW Survey #6: Take Your Own Personal "Human Asset Value" Inventory.

You bring your automobile in for an inspection to determine if it needs repairs. You check your investment portfolio to see how well your assets are performing. You review your bank statement to be certain that you can cover your bills. You appraise your property. You prepare balance sheets for your businesses. Comment: It might be a good idea to take a Personal Asset Value Inventory -- a self-appraisal -- from time to time. Start today. Invest a bit of time in taking an honest look at yourself...strong points, weak points, all points. What you reveal to yourself in this exercise might help you to make some refinements, and to better plan for a happier, more fulfilling and prosperous future.

We have not assigned "weights" or "priorities" to any factors, and there is no grading. Once the results are in, we will conduct another survey to assign weights to the various factors, so that you will have a means of rating yourself in comparison to others. But for the moment, your answers to the survey will just provide you with some food for thought...and thinking is good exercise; the more you use your mind, the stronger it becomes.

You'll be glad that you made this self-investment. And we at THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES thank you for your participation. Now let's get on with the collaborative process of helping each other to be more successful.

It is self-evaluation time. We must do this before we can evaluate others effectively.

Please be advised that the survey contains 45 questions...so be prepared to dedicate some time to thinking about each question, and answer honestly -- never try to fool yourself.

Relax, focus and enjoy the adventure of self-discovery.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES
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Click toTake Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/TNNWsurvey6  

Note: This Survey #6 will be closing on April 15th at 12:00 am Eastern Time. out next week. After the Survey is closed and the results have been published, if you have some of your own additional self-assessment tools or criteria to share and you would like to include them in a follow-up to the Survey, please write to us at http://bit.ly/contactTNNW , being sure to include the words “Survey #6 Suggestion” in the subject line of your correspondence. If you would like, we will give you credit for your suggested question right in the Survey itself, and when the results are published – just let us know if you’d like to be listed as a Contributor in your letter to us.

If you’d like , join The National Networker Companies for free at http://bit.ly/JoinTNNW .

Click toTake Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/TNNWsurvey6  

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*Follow TNNW on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TNNW_BUZZWORKS
*Published by TNNWC. All rights reserved.*Join our GICBC and receive Your TNNW Newsletter and THE BLUE TUESDAY REPORT! - Click HERE

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About Douglas Castle 
Douglas Castle - LinkedIn Profile
The National Networker Companies
Braintenance - Stay razor sharp.
The Internationalist Page - A world without barriers.
The Global Futurist - Revealing trends.
Taking Command! - Mastering your fate.
Follow Castle on Twitter 
Follow TNNW on Twitter
Follow Braintenance on Twitter
*Subscribe (free!) for The National Networker Newsletter and the BLUE TUESDAY REPORT, and join The TNNWC GICBC at Join Us!

The hardest arithmetic...

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."

American Social Writer, Eric Hoffer

Your action for today is to spend 5-10 minutes counting and writing your blessings.


Click *here* to find out more about QuoteActions and some of the other innovative products and services offered by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER.

As the creator of the QuoteActions, a unique relationship building system, Rick Itzkowich finds his articles, podcasts and blog messages regarding keeping your brand "top of mind" in high demand. His latest eBook, Social Networking for Business Profits, uses cost-effective follow up strategies. Rick is also the Co-founder and Vice President of Productive Learning & Leisure, a personal development training company for corporations and individuals. Rick can be reached at rick@productivelearning.com.

For more about Rick Itzkowich, please click here.





Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free, and get your BLUE TUESDAY REPORT, too. - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies

The National Networker Weekly Newsletter and Update: March, 2010, Week 1

The National Networker Weekly Newsletter and Update:  March, 2010, Week 1

A NOTE FROM THE CHAIRMAN: Can Games Change the World?

Adam J. Kovitz 

Update Bulletin

Update Bulletin - New Developments - The National Networker Companies - 03.07.2010

Douglas Castle



In the Spotlight:  Special Featured Articles

VENTURE FINANCING - REALITY VERSUS RUMOR: Angel Investors - What They Are, Part I

Dick Brown

THE POINT: Remember Bush 41’s “Read my lips, no new taxes” fate? Does President Obama?

Barbara Krueger Huffman



Featured Columns

BEYOND THE CUBICLE - CORPORATE CULTURE: Dear Boss

Teri Aulph

DOUGLAS CASTLE RANTS: The Valuing, Respecting and Caring For the Individual Human Being - A Restoration of Basic Decency

Douglas Castle


SALES AND MARKETING: The Marketing Shift

Bill Doerr

 

BEING THERE WHEN IT COUNTS: The Opportunity for Change

Rick Itzkowich

 

CONNECTING IS NOT ENOUGH: Ten Tips to get your referral message across (Part Two)

Andy Lopata

 

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL GUIDE TO ENTERTAINMENT: Yes, I’m a Gazillionaire

Sandy McKee

 

POWER THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: Power of Compassion, Part 1

Patricia Parham, Ph.D.

 

KARL SMITH: Networking lessons from President Barack Obama

Karl Smith

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THIS ARTICLE--THIS AUTHOR--YOUR FEEDBACKà

(1) If you would like to post a comment on this article for this author and for other readers to see, or if you would like to read the comments which have been posted by others, simply scroll down to the very bottom of this article (where it says "Posted by...") and click on the small text hyperlink that says "comments": a pop-up window will open which shows all of the comments posted by others. At the end of the other posts, there is a textbox for you to post your own comment.
(2) If you would prefer to contact the author in confidence, or to write at greater length regarding reciprocal links, special projects or professional issues, simply click on the button in this box labeled "CONTACT AUTHOR," and a pop-up form will magically appear for your use. It even allows you to include web and blog urls, downloads and attachments of all sorts.
(3) If you have not yet become a Member of THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES (there is no charge), you should do that using the buttons below. Click on FREE NEWSLETTER button to start the process; then choose either the RSS Feed or the Daily Email delivery option.

---------------------------------------------------

*Follow TNNW on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TNNW_BUZZWORKS
*Published by TNNWC. All rights reserved.*Join our GICBC and receive Your TNNW Newsletter and THE BLUE TUESDAY REPORT! - Click HERE
The National Networker Companies 

  

Announcement: Global Edge Technologies Group LLC

Update: Global Edge Technologies Group LLC   Please pardon us while our website at http://www.GetGlobalEdge.com is undergoing an upgrade. This process should be completed in May, 2010, and the result should be spectacular.   In the meantime, please access our official company blog at: http://GlobalEdgeTechnologies.blogspot.com.   Legal Notice: Unfortunately, due to an unresolved contractual dispute with Lightshop Design, the Malaysian manufacturer of the Speedlight Pro Kit line of products, Global Edge Technologies Group LLC will no longer distribute, support or promote any of that company’s products.   Should you wish to purchase any Speedlight Pro Kit products, go directly to: http://www.SpeedlightProKitUSA.com.   We look forward to having you come back again soon. Douglas Castle, Managing Director GLOBAL EDGE TECHNOLOGIES GROUP LLC http://www.GetGlobalEdge.com http://GlobalEdgeTechnologies.blogspot.com douglas.castle@getglobaledge.com   1.888.317.6498

Fun With Attorneys!

Fun With Attorneys!

Dear Friends:

As many of you know, I am a major advocate of the legal "profession." Lawyers are as pervasive in western society as dust mites, and, while they don't eat human skin (with the possible exception of a few who have become prosecutors), they always extort their pound of flesh. They make the law, they interpret the law, they change the law (flexibility is important where favoritism and injustice are concerned), they occasionally break the law (like that Watergate thing from sometime ago), and they like to name new diseases, protect your rights, defend your honor, collect substantial retainers, speak in riddles and circles, and pretty much run entire countries....sometimes into the ground.

When I've been sued, I have always lost more than I would otherwise have because of the additional attorney's fees required to help me in the dignified "losing process." When I've sued, I've yet to collect or recover sufficient damages to be able to cover the legal bill associated with the dignified "winning process."

If the legal profession were a stock, I might even sell it short. Then again, some of my friends are attorneys (a seeming oxymoron, I know), and I treasure their friendship as much as I try to ignore their counsel. I try to keep my conversations with them brief.

My friend Gabriel Siegel (who is a non-attorney, which by the Pauli Exclusion Principle [not really] makes him a victim, as are most non-attorneys) forwarded me some wonderful attorney jokes. I present them here, unedited, for your pleasure.

As a an old business acquaintance of mine once told me, "Before you do any kinda business, always, always, always, insult a competent attorney." This fellow left his employment with my company to become a speech writer for political aspirants. Go figure...

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle

Here they come:

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These are from a book called 'Disorder in the American Courts' and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.  _____________________________________  ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory? WITNESS: I forget. ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot? _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning? WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam? ____________________________________ ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he? WITNESS: He's twenty, much like your IQ ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken? WITNESS: Are you shitting me? _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time? WITNESS: Getting laid _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: She had three children, right? WITNESS: Yes. ATTORNEY: How many were boys? WITNESS: None. ATTORNEY: Were there any girls? WITNESS : Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney? _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated? WITNESS: By death. ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated? WITNESS: Take a guess _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual? WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard. ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female? WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney? WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people? WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight. _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to? WITNESS: Oral. _____________________________________   ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body? WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 pm. ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time? WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished _____________________________________ ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample? WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question? _____________________________________ And the best for last:   ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy? WITNESS: No. ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor? WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar. ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless? WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law   THINK ABOUT IT!  MOST MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ARE LAWYERS..... (I rest my case).

THIS ARTICLE--THIS AUTHOR--YOUR FEEDBACKà

(1) If you would like to post a comment on this article for this author and for other readers to see, or if you would like to read the comments which have been posted by others, simply scroll down to the very bottom of this article (where it says "Posted by...") and click on the small text hyperlink that says "comments": a pop-up window will open which shows all of the comments posted by others. At the end of the other posts, there is a textbox for you to post your own comment.(2) If you would prefer to contact the author in confidence, or to write at greater length regarding reciprocal links, special projects or professional issues, simply click on the button in this box labeled "CONTACT AUTHOR," and a pop-up form will magically appear for your use. It even allows you to include web and blog urls, downloads and attachments of all sorts. (3) If you have not yet become a Member of THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES (there is no charge), you should do that using the buttons below. Click on FREE NEWSLETTER button to start the process; then choose either the RSS Feed or the Daily Email delivery option.

---------------------------------------------------

*Follow TNNW on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TNNW_BUZZWORKS
*Published by TNNWC. All rights reserved.*Join our GICBC and receive Your TNNW Newsletter and THE BLUE TUESDAY REPORT! - Click HERE
The National Networker Companies 

Self-Growth: The Reality.

Self-Growth: The Reality.

The Most Efficient Path to Self-Growth, by Douglas Castle, Vice-Chairman of The National Networker Companies.

*Commentary regarding a sales letter (not reproduced here) from David Riklan of SelfGrowth.com: "How 97.5 % of all Self Improvement Companies Grow their Businesses"

David Riklan publishes and produces the selfgrowth.com website and its ancillary businesses. He accepts articles written by many writers about various aspects of "self-growth." Some of these articles are very worthwhile reading, and an intelligent person can occasionally acquire a gold nugget of an idea by reading the material produced by his authors. His business grows itself by his authors' contributions of article content and fees. I admire his business model - it is a good one. But there are some serious negatives...

David Riklan is a pay-to-play proclaimer of "expert" status, and a purveyor of "experts" in the self-improvement field. He (through selfgrowth.com) hasn't achieved any great credibility (in my uniquely myopic and snobbish view) as yet and doesn't develop traction for his readers. He actually tried to get me to enlist (i.e. "pay") as an "expert," and eventually wanted to discuss my going to work for him. I declined, saying that I was intellectually incapable of holding my own in a room filled with so many other "experts." I humbly confessed that I, myself, needed a great deal of self-improvement before I could counsel others in all good conscience.

Almost every person with whom I come into contact (I usually wear gloves) is a "self-growth expert" or a "self-growth coach." I always ask myself (silently, of course, so as not to create a stir) several questions before I entertain engaging a coach or advisor:

1). Does he or she "walk the walk?" [is he or she the avatar of a self-improved creature?]

2). Would I want to emulate this person? Is her or she someone I admire?

3). Has he or she successfully coached others and generated appreciable results?

4). Can we work comfortably together?

5). Would he or she be audacious enough to refuse me as a client if I were perfectly willing to pay, but obviously demonstrated serious deficiences or limitations (in terms of ability or attitude)?

I have found that many people actually need more of a strategic path and plan than they do generic "self-improvement" tips. That is why I've chosen to be involved in strategic planning and organizational engineering instead of stand alone self-growth.

On the path to achieving a business or professional goal, an individual doubtless encounters numerous real-time, real-world difficulties which force him or her to make adaptations which are, by definition, "self-growth."

The best path to self-growth is through field testing and experience.

In brief (I frequently write while in my underwear), don't talk to me about camping --- take me on a rugged camping trip. Experience is the most potent teacher of all, and the multisensorial memories created through experience are much more readily memorable, accessible and credible than those learned in a casual or classroom environment.

We learn most effectively by observing, and then by doing. 

Faithfully,

DouglasCastle

p.s. Would you prefer the bodyguard who had read the book, or the one who had been a Navy SEAL or had worked for the Secret Service?  

About Douglas Castle 

Douglas Castle - LinkedIn Profile

The National Networker Companies

Braintenance - Stay razor sharp.

The Internationalist Page - A world without barriers.

The Global Futurist - Revealing trends.

Taking Command! - Mastering your fate.

Follow Castle on Twitter 

Follow TNNW on Twitter

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THIS ARTICLE--THIS AUTHOR--YOUR FEEDBACKà

(1) If you would like to post a comment on this article for this author and for other readers to see, or if you would like to read the comments which have been posted by others, simply scroll down to the very bottom of this article (where it says "Posted by...") and click on the small text hyperlink that says "comments": a pop-up window will open which shows all of the comments posted by others. At the end of the other posts, there is a textbox for you to post your own comment.(2) If you would prefer to contact the author in confidence, or to write at greater length regarding reciprocal links, special projects or professional issues, simply click on the button in this box labeled "CONTACT AUTHOR," and a pop-up form will magically appear for your use. It even allows you to include web and blog urls, downloads and attachments of all sorts. (3) If you have not yet become a Member of THE NATIONAL NETWORKER COMPANIES (there is no charge), you should do that using the buttons below. Click on FREE NEWSLETTER button to start the process; then choose either the RSS Feed or the Daily Email delivery option.

---------------------------------------------------

*Follow TNNW on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TNNW_BUZZWORKS
*Published by TNNWC. All rights reserved.*Join our GICBC and receive Your TNNW Newsletter and THE BLUE TUESDAY REPORT! - Click HERE
The National Networker Companies 

THOSE WHO BRING...

"Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves."
British Novelist and Dramatist, James Mathew Barre

Your action for today is to do something that will lift up the spirits of one of your friends.

Click *here* to find out more about QuoteActions and some of the other innovative products and services offered by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER.

As the creator of the QuoteActions, a unique relationship building system, Rick Itzkowich finds his articles, podcasts and blog messages regarding keeping your brand "top of mind" in high demand. His latest eBook, Social Networking for Business Profits, uses cost-effective follow up strategies. Rick is also the Co-founder and Vice President of Productive Learning & Leisure, a personal development training company for corporations and individuals. Rick can be reached at rick@productivelearning.com.

For more about Rick Itzkowich, please click here.





Published by THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. All rights reserved. Subscribe Free, and get your BLUE TUESDAY REPORT, too. - Click HERE.
The National Networker Companies