Thought for the day. If a child trips and falls we run to their rescue. If an adult trips and falls we stand by and laugh. Often the adult needs as much compassion as the child.
Peter Alcivar at 7:47am May 7
SNL got a lot of mileage out of one stumble by Gerald Ford, one of our most athletic presidents.
Jeanie Beury Purcell at 7:52am May 7
Wow, excellent thoguht. Thanks for sharing.
Stacey Friedlein at 7:54am May 7
Right, it was a great skit. But I was speaking more metaphorically.
Staci Severin Landis at 7:58am May 7 via Facebook Mobile
Amen! I think it says a lot about the person's character how they respond when others struggle, fail or fall down a bit. We've experienced some of the uncompassionate...worse when it's family! But, then, if I'm the one who falls and I get treated poorly...it goes back to me on how I will respond back. It's a cycle of learning...over and over and over again. But, we've also experienced wonderful people, too...and we are grateful for their support.
Peter Alcivar at 8:00am May 7
My first wife once told me a story about how she and her cousin went on a luxury cruise with their grandmother as teenagers. They were walking somewhere and their grandmother lost her footing and fell. As a senior citizen, she had recently received training on how to land so as to avoid breaking a hip or other injury (I got the same thing in martial arts training, obviously for different reasons). Well, their grandmother landed correctly, and the two girls cheered. Onlookers were horrified at these two disrespectful teenagers who were making fun of an old woman falling, which could not have been farther from the truth.
Thought for the day. The value in who you are is defined by your ability to bring value to others.
Symona Wood at 11:48am May 6
My 8 yr. old daughter experienced this very lesson this week...she tried out for a school play, did not get a part. She was quite sad....I explained to her that even though she was disapointed, she should go to the 1 child in her class and congratulate him on his recieving a 'part'....I told her it would not be easy, but worth it....the next day ... she did. When she came home she told me how much better she felt and that after doing as I had instructed, she nearly forgot how sad she felt and in place became happy for her friend.....btw...the boy just looked at her, confused I'm sure, and walked away...oh well...lol
Rose Black at 6:44pm May 6
so right!
Khara Plicanic at 11:25pm May 6
Great message! :)
Thought for the day. Give a smile and a wave to a stranger. You might just make just make their day.
Peter Alcivar at 12:44pm May 5
I tried that and all I got for my trouble was a restraining order. :-)
Laurie Lozano at 1:13pm May 5
I got 'the finger'. :0
Will Price at 1:21pm May 5
Mine waved back and smiled too... never mind, it was a mirror.
Fred Hinegardner at 1:48pm May 5
Yesterday, someone in a car beside me did that to me. I hit the bumper of the car in front of me. If that was you waving and smiling like a dang fool, stop it - yer causin trouble.
Thought for the day. In life as in football when all else fails, punt.
Fred Hinegardner at 10:24am May 4
...or sell the football on ebay and turn a profit.
Vernon Chambers at 10:36am May 4
I never understood pro football.....inspite of all the big bucks those guys make, they still insist on fighting over that one football! Why don't they wise up and go buy there OWN ball? Like I said, I never understood football.
Fred Hinegardner at 11:05am May 4
They fight over every little thing. They fight over one little quarter before the game even starts. Hockey is better - they get to fight with sticks.
Richard Cooper at 10:10pm May 4
Yes Fred, and they add a degree of difficulty by fighting on skates.
Thought for the day. If there is no hope, there is no future.
Thought for the day. Success come to those who are willing to fail.
Fred Hinegardner at 8:54am May 2
I was never willing to fall. I fell multiple times, but never liked it much, and never did it willingly. Some modicum of success game my way in spite of my lack of cooperation.
Stacey Friedlein at 10:10am May 2
I believe understanding the lessons which come from our failures are what allows us to succeed. The key here is in the learning and unwillingness to repeat the mistakes which allowed us to fail.
Fred Hinegardner at 10:38am May 2
Ah.
Thought for the day. Listen to your brain but follow your heart.
Loreen Thurman Liberty at 9:27am April 30
Trying so hard to follow this.... the brain is just used to being in control!
Jenifer Mowery Samaha at 10:01am April 30
So true. thanks.
Fred Hinegardner at 10:26am April 30
...so I'm to ignore reason and rational thought? And what's the good of listening if you don't do anything about it? Listen but ignore? - that sounds like a stubborn teenager.We are given both reason and emotion for a reason. The trick is moderation of both.
Stacey Friedlein at 10:34am April 30
Iam just in a very different place with this. When we follow our heart we are following our purpose in life and we trust a power beyond our own to guide our thought.
Barbara Jones Adelman at 10:39am April 30
what if it has gotten us into bad places previously?
Stacey Friedlein at 10:44am April 30
In that case we may have been misinterpreting what it is in our heart. You notice I did not say ignore your brain. But it is your heart which helps you choose the best path.
Stacey Friedlein at 10:50am April 30
To Fred again. I don;t think I said that you should not use your brain. The brain are not mutally exclusive of each other or we would not have both. A mature heart has learned from life experiences and allows those experiences to direct emotion.
Fred Hinegardner at 11:09am April 30
Stacy, the heart does indeed help us choose the proper path. The operative word, though, is "help."The other really nasty problem with discussions of this sort is that so many of the words are at best poorly defined, and so they end up meaning anything people want them to mean. Worse yet, they often become misleading and will take people into bad places.
Thought for the day. Engage the brain before you engage the mouth. Otherwise what comes out might be crap.
Kylie Recla Banks at 10:50am April 29
Very True
Melissa Denham Pfannenstiel at 11:09am April 29
LOVE this!
Sheila Rutledge at 3:57pm April 29
Stacey please repeat this to me many times. I have this disease where my filter is missing!
For the second time...Thought for the day. Attention Wal-Mart shoppers, there is a sale in our portrait studio today, 187 prints for $4.99. Make you cringe? Then why are you shopping there for items you could purchase from the small business owner down the street? What goes around comes around. Great diialogue this morning, looking for more comments.
Stacey, I agreed with you on this that is why I have not been there since Christmas.
Allen Austin at 8:27pm April 28
The pictures are still over priced!
Lindsi Jones at 8:53pm April 28
barf..
Travis Cossel at 8:56pm April 28
Nothing wrong with shopping at Wal-Mart. If I need staples or a light bulb or a bunch of bananas there's really no reason to pay more somewhere else. I think the distinction comes with a business that provides more than just a product like everyone else. To be honest, there are people out there that are perfectly happy with Wal-Mart pictures ... and you're never going to convince them to spend more for a better product. Not everyone is your customer, you know?
Tony Cooper at 9:00pm April 28
'Zackly Travis. There's no mom and pops nearby that sell what I need for less... and none of them are personalized custom products, either. I'm not competing with WM... if you're a WM portrait client, you probably aren't mine, and were never meant to be. On the other hand, if you are my client, you'll likely never want to be a WM client again. :)
Jack Corzine at 9:02pm April 28
nope, sorry, I take my own pictures and do the cropping and touch up on the computer. Sorry Stacey, in general I do agree with you but if it is something that I can do I will. There is one thing I do wish to say though on this subject. That is simply that each and EVERY small business owner has a responsibility to provide the very best personal service available. Otherwise it makes the easy way of taking it to someplace like Walmart more appealing to people. I've been burnt by a small business photographer and it does make you much more wary of placing what can amount to much more money into someone elses hands (granted this is a rare occurance).
Stacey Friedlein at 9:17pm April 28
I appreciate everyone's comments. Here is a challenge for the small business owners. Next time you are heading out to do your shopping think about whether the items you are going to get can be purchased locally. You might be surprised.I totally agree the Wal Mart customer is probably not your client but this is not the point of this post. The original reason for asking this question was to get small business owners consider the double standard of wanting clients to use their services but who may be looking for the cheapest solutions to their needs. If you don't feel you can afford what you are selling it makes the selling proposition much more difficult. I plan to write more on this topic in the future.Again thanks to everyone for their input. You can read the entire thread and post replies on my blog at http://inthespiritconsulting.blogspot.com/
Defining Image Photographs at 9:18pm April 28
Walmart is not union. They help big industries cut the jobs and saleries of workers at other stores such as Fred Meyer, Alberston's, Target and Safeway. If you have ever worked for a grocery chain, you would understand how hard the work is and that the wage is not enough for what you do. If workers get their wages cut do to WALMART....do you think they can afford to spend money on photographers????? SERIOUSLY. Shop Union and protect our our towns.Good for you Stacey.
Stacey Friedlein at 9:24pm April 28
One final point. I really did not intend for this to be a dialogue about Wal Mart as much as a discussion on the mindset of the small business owner. However, everyone's comments are appreciated.
Barbara Jones Adelman at 9:26pm April 28
Hey Stacey - this is kind of timely - I attended an event for ISU tonight and looked around at all the other small business women in attendance, met or got re -aquatinted with many and realized that this network of support and personal relationships is not only the beauty of our city, but also the connections that will grow my business - I should not expect their support if I do not attempt to support them. My goal for the rest of the year is a campaign of one on one support of local business and fund raising efforts in order to be a vital part of the community= even though the time and effort may be a little more, the benefits both to my business and my spirit I believe will be great (and cost effective)
Travis Cossel at 9:29pm April 28
Grocery workers aren't underpaid .. I've worked in the industry and the work isn't all that hard. There are certainly much more difficult jobs out there that pay the same or less (including my current job). The bottom line is that I would bet that for most of us, Wal-Mart employees are NOT our target demographic .. just like Burger King employees aren't our target demographic. This idea that I should pay more for something somewhere else to somehow better support our towns is bunk.
Stacey Friedlein at 9:41pm April 28
Travis, I am concerned with your comments. If you are in business you should understand the value of doing business with other small business. It is good and healthy for you and for them. Discounting people based on their employment is also short-sighted
Travis Cossel at 10:23pm April 28
I do understand the value when the small business is providing something that a larger business cannot. But if the big business sells a light bulb for $5 and the small business sells them for $15, and the transaction just involves me receiving a light bulb, then it makes no sense for me to pay 3 times as much just because someone wants to run a small business and sell light bulbs for $15.I'm an advocate for working with other small businesses when it makes sense. Just this week I paid a small business $35 to fix a sprinkler, even though I could have bought the parts and done it myself for $5. But if a small business isn't doing anything extra for me other than just charging me more, why would it be sensible to pay more for the same exact product? It doesn't.
Jodi Mattock Walsh at 10:26pm April 28
i think you're making a valid point Stacey. Sometimes it's not possible to avoid the large chain stores but sometimes it is. i try to patronize the small nursery that's behind my house even though i could get cheaper gardening stuff at Lowes but i think it's important to keep these little businesses around. as for walmart- i've never had pictures taken there but from what i've seen from any studio like that, i'm not impressed. but i do consider myself in business to help the walmart shopper. why should only people who have hundreds of dollars to spend get nice pictures of their family? i couldn't afford that so it never occurred to me that i had options outside of walmart and in many cases people don't. i'm not saying everyone has to go this route but i feel like since i have the means to do it, i'll keep my prices affordable for the walmart shopper and hopefully give some hardworking families the opportunity for a nice set of pictures.
Karen Sumner White at 10:30pm April 28 via Facebook Mobile
I couldn't resist posting something on this topic. The items I purchase at Wal-Mart may be items that I can purchase at a local business. However, how intelligent a business person would I be if I didn't look for the best deal on an identical item? The point should be that WalMart cannot sell the identical product that I create because I make a point to separate myself from other photographers, and certainly could never even be remotely compared to any click and grin studio anywhere! Create something that no one else can, create the desire and "need" with your marketing, build your reputation for unsurpassed service and they have no choice of where they go to get that product. This is the solution!
Travis Cossel at 10:31pm April 28
As for discounting people based on their employment, my comment was directed towards Defining Image. She said that if grocery workers don't get paid more how can we expect them to buy our product. My point was that I don't. In general, they simply aren't my target market. Does that mean I turn someone away just because of where they work? Never! But it also doesn't change the fact that very few of them will ever pay for my services.
Julia Gerace at 9:14am April 28
around here? nope - can't think of one.... for gifts and trinkets, yes, I do go to privately owned places, bookstores too, dance shoes - absolutely, even for some photography gear, I'll travel to the nearest non-chain photo store... there are a few meat and fish places that I like to support as well... but, I just can't agree to a blanket condemnation of Walmart stores...they have their place, they serve a purpose....
Barbara Litchfield Hill at 9:36am April 28
I agree Julia. As a photographer, I don't view Walmart as my competition. The clientele who purchase "portraits" there are not the clients I'm seeking out. Plus, I've heard that Walmart makes no money off their portrait studios...they're only hoping you'll buy other stuff while you're there! I LOVE to support small business, especially women-owned, and do so frequently. But when it comes to buying toiletries, envelopes, etc., a girl has gotta do what she can in this new economy! As in all things, balance & moderation.
Stacey Friedlein at 10:59am April 28
Barbara,I certainly agree with your concept Wal-Mart is not your competition. What I am trying to get accross is if you are willing to make buying decisions based strictly on price then don't be uspet when your poteintial client does not utilize your services because of your price.The second point is supporting small business is good for your small business. The few extra pennies you spend at the local store can pay huge dividends for you in the future.
Stacey Friedlein at 11:06am April 28
I have continued this discussion on my blog at: http://inthespiritconsulting.blogspot.com/
Barbara Litchfield Hill at 11:40am April 28
I'm not disputing those points at all; in fact I stated similar thoughts in my post, so we're basically on the same page:)
Fred Hinegardner at 1:22pm April 28
When I had a studio, I was glad Wal-Mart and 15 other similar operations did what they did. They took people off my hands that I no longer wished to serve. I instructed all my help to assist callers who could no longer afford me.I cut my photographic teeth shooting 97 cent 8x10 specials. I shot 200 sittings a week while the studios maybe shot 20. Experience helps a rapid learning curve.One day I saw a local PPA Master hiding behind some shrubbery, watching my operation. I waved. He ran. He later tried to prevent my joining "his" PPA. My subsequent history is public.I don't think whining or boycotting solves anything more than creating an energy drain.I have even recommended people who want to gain a lot of portrait experience in a short amount of time to go to work for one of these outfits. I retired at 50.
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