Finding Lost Children

A couple of days ago I had to go to a dealership to get my car fixed. I am not implying that I don't want my car to have children, because who am I to make that choice? More so, I was sent a letter about a recall on one of the parts (the hazards, actually), meaning that the dealership was obligated to fix my car while I watched television and drank free coffee from a vending machine

"This is quite a deal," you may be thinking.

And I suppose it is. My philosophy was that for every ten minutes I had to wait, I would drink a different variation of coffee. "That'll show 'em to recall my parts," I thought. It didn't matter that I was up all night, a fact that may have been due more to the excitement of the day as opposed to the caffeine anyway. But in truth, it's not this coffee that intrigued me earlier today. It was the three-chambered snack machine next to it that contained M&Ms, nuts and Mike & Ikes. Granted, Mike and Ike are both nuts as actual people. That much has already been documented. However, the truly nutty aspect of this was a typewritten note attached to this machine which read, "Please be honest: this machine helps to find homeless children." Wow, to think that I thought this only dispensed candy, when it actually has the power to locate lost kids. That's one powerful machine, even more so than the coffee machine which happened to double as a hot chocolate maker

I don't mean to personalize this column to merely address one machine at a random car dealership of which I am not mentioning the name. However, this is an example of what bad wording and grammar can do for a dealership. Once others spot the sentence on the machine, no doubt sobbing mothers will be pleading the machine to find long lost Tommy and Mary, when in reality all the mothers will be offered is a handful of pistachios. Some would argue that this is good enough, but I beg to differ -- because that's the type of person I am...

Or, maybe this isn't false advertising after all. Maybe this one machine can find children by taking advantage of the fact that kids love M&Ms. This is a fact just as well-known as broccoli being green, or greens sometimes being broccoli. So perhaps the kids will smell the candy from wherever they're at, and then come running to the dealership, hopefully looking both ways while passing each of the parked cars...

Regardless of the actual power of this machine, I left the dealership with fixed hazards, as well as with the knowledge that there are some lost kids out there -- and it's no wonder, considering that the only way we reach out to them is by placing machines in locations they will never think to enter...

But I digress.

Greg Gagliardi is a teacher and writer. His stream-of-consciousness weekly humor column, "Progressive Revelations," has been ongoing since 1998. (ProgressiveRevelations.com)

Get Lucky in Your Business

In any business venture luck has some part to play. How do you make your business luckier?

Lucky people do not dwell on their past mistakes and instead focus on today and tomorrow. The past cannot be changed no matter how much you worry about it. The only thing you have control over is the present. So stop living in the past and make the most of today.

Lucky people rarely whinge, moan or complain about others. Rather they focus all their mental energy on making their little world more fun. They tend to enjoy running their business and find joy in little things. Anger, envy, jealousy and revenge are wasted emotions that will end up doing more harm than good.

You could try getting to know a lot of people in your industry. The more you socialise with other business leaders the luckier you will become. Instead of treating it as a chore make friends and mix with other intelligent people who can help in you in your goals.

Joining networking organisations and meeting new people will open up new opportunities. They can also be great fun if you approach them in the right manner. Go there to have fun and meet new people rather than just ramming your business down other people's throats.

Lucky people tend to enjoy talking to strangers and meeting new people. Being shy achieves nothing and staying locked up in your house means that you will never make any new friends, business contacts or be exposed to new ideas.

Lucky people are always reading up on the latest developments in their business niche. By constantly keeping on top of all the new business developments you will be able to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Do you rely on luck to make sure people remember you? By being well groomed, following up on leads and keeping in touch with your client base regularly you will be surprised how lucky you become.

By using a professional marketing system it is amazing how easy it becomes to manage new and existing contacts. People at your office should only have to enter the details in once and then the information should be accessible to all. Do you still use cards stuck on the wall with drawing pins?

Being in the right place at the right time is beyond our control but it is possible to enhance your luck quotient by exposing yourself to new people, new ideas and different places.

Do you feel lucky punk?

Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal. This Business Franchise Opportunity is for people who would like to work from home and be their own boss.

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