Turn, Turn, Turn

During the Holiday season I had the opportunity to slow things down at bit. Like many of you, I move fast. I enjoy what I do and work far more than anyone with a “typical” 9 to 5 type job. Of course in our industry, most of us don’t have typical 9 to 5 jobs and the passion we have for what we do is what makes our career path so rewarding.

From my perspective, reflecting back on 2012, it’s been an interesting year. I’m surprised and pleased that I met a modest sales goal for the distributor side of my business, despite very challenging economic conditions in my state of California. (But… we have great weather!)

My business resource program, FreePromoTips has grown in 2012, continuing to evolve into a relevant communication tool for the industry. We were able to help get the word out on the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts facilitated by SAAGNY and PPAI. We shed a light on the 15 for 15 Program created by the Regional Association Council (RAC) to help with business disruptions from natural disasters.

Being passionate about continuing education, we continue to raise awareness for the importance of professional development. We support the efforts of the Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF) that does such a great job awarding scholarships. This is an awesome program.

We launched FreePromoTips SuccessTracks Education Experiences in 2012. SuccessTracks is covering topics pertinent to personal and business development. Our first Education Experience for 2013 was a presentation presented by Ron Baron on the Trade Show Money Machine. You can learn the “secret” in this 30-minute session. The recording can be found here. This content is being brought to you with the support of our friends at SnugZ USA, Warwick Publishing and AIA.

Personal circumstances affected my life as well. I recovered from a successful ankle fusion surgery done in 2011. Having lived with pain for many years from an old motocross racing injury, I’m glad that I finally had the guts to go through this brutal procedure. Life’s challenges affected some people I know and I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. As I am writing this I’ve been streaming a memorial service for Frank Pastore, a former major league pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds, who became a popular radio talk show host in our area. He passed away after a tragic motorcycle accident. As a rider myself, I realize how fragile life can be.

In reality life happens and death happens. As we look forward, I’m excited about the opportunities we have to make a difference in our families, our communities and our businesses. Let’s make the most out of our lives! Coming up are some industry events that are a great way to start off the year.

A personal goal for me in 2013 is to focus on more effective time management and being more active physically. I want to take better care of myself. We are doing a 5K Color Run, which for me with my fused ankle will be a walk, but it’s a good thing anyway. They spray you with color throughout the event, which should be pretty fun.

Another thing I’m committed to is taking more time off to enjoy life. While I love what I do, the whole workaholic thing is not healthy. There needs to be a work life balance that makes sense. To that end, I am privileged to play a role in the Sail to Success education cruise facilitated by my good friend Ron Baron. Our inaugural cruise to the Bahamas in 2012 was awesome as shown in this short video clip. In the video, Ron talks about the concept that to be more successful you need to work less! We are currently putting together a Caribbean cruise in September. For more information and to know when the early booking pricing is available click here.

In wrapping up this Rant, a tune that has been floating around in my head recently is the classic song “Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is a Season).” The song is adapted from the book of Ecclesiastes (3:1) by Pete Seeger in 1959. In 1965 The Byrds recording of it went to #1 on the Billboard 100. With everything that’s going on these days, it’s a relevant today as it was in the 60’s. If it’s of interest, here’s pictorial music video of it and the words are below.

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late

I look forward to seeing many of you at industry events in 2013!

Jeff Solomon, MAS, MASI is affiliated with a large distributor company. The FreePromoTips.com website and e-newsletters he publishes are packed with beneficial information and exclusive FREE offers from a few forward-thinking supplier companies. Don’t miss out on what’s happening! Opt in to receive their e-newsletters! LIKE their page on Facebook and follow them on twitter. Jeff can also be found on Linkedin.