What was your first impression that you made ?

Posted on June 18, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

I know you’ve heard it before, but how important is it really to dress so that people are impressed with you ?

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Cliché? Perhaps, but there is truth to this statement. And with the national unemployment rate stubbornly high for the last several years–and still lingering around 8.3%–job seekers especially know how important it is to make the right first impression!

Dressing for success may sound intimidating, expensive and a bit vain, but your presentation creates credibility. According to the Career Center at North Dakota State University, “Whether you like it or not, people size you up in a very short time, actually only about 3-5 seconds. Your apparel, demeanor, and mannerisms are all factors in influencing what someone else thinks of you and whether you inspire them.”And with phrases like black tie, business formal and dressy casual, even the most fashion forward can become easily confused about what to wear to work, a party or an event. To help you navigate those tricky dress codes, etiquette guru Emily Post® created an attire guide which lists appropriate attire from casual to white tie.Even colleges across the country are making conscious efforts to educate their soon-to-be graduates by hosting seminars and posting online guides that include a list of what to wear–and what not to wear–for a job interview. Schools like Boston College even offer their students the opportunity to meet with an advisor to further discuss this underestimated topic.

Here are a few practical tips to help you make the right impression the first time.

When in doubt, choose to stand out. If you’re iffy or unsure of what the dress code is–or if there is even a dress code–then play it safe by taking the dressier approach. It is always more appropriate and respectable to be overdressed than it is to be underdressed. If nothing else, people will likely compliment you on your jazzed-up look.

Less is more. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on an entire new wardrobe. Invest in a few classic pieces–such as a blazer, a white collared shirt, or a black knee-length skirt–and then mix and match a few simple accessories from there.

Dress to impress–even on “casual Friday.” Just because it’s casual Friday at your corporate office doesn’t mean you can stroll into work with clothes that mirror your pajamas. If you wear jeans, consider tucking in your shirt and wearing a belt for a casual, yet crisp and clean look.

Step up your wardrobe even when you’re on a tighter budget. You don’t have to shop high-end stores for a high-end look. Shop the clearance rack at your favorite retail store, visit garage sales and thrift stores or even check out eBay® for some gently used or never worn pieces. You’re sure to get your return on investment when shopping smart.

Pass on the perfume or cologne. Especially if you’re heading out to a job interview, as some people have sensitivity and/or allergic reactions to various scents.

Oral hygiene counts! Don’t let bad breathe be the elephant in the room. Even though you’re well groomed and visibly presentable, having bad breathe can leave a lasting impression on someone–and not a good one at that!

Next time you get an invitation for a cocktail party or you’ve finally nailed down that job interview, be sure you’re dressed appropriately–and dressed for success. Not only do you get one–and only one chance–to make that first impression; it’s typically cemented in someone’s mind for a lifetime.

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The Real You

Posted on June 17, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

Many people live a double life; and what I mean is that you see the person on the outside but you have no idea what that person is like on the inside. You may not know that the person your looking at has such a hard time with him/herself that just looking in the mirror is a struggle.

Sure we all look good on the outside, we can fake it til we make it but the question I have is: What do we look like on the inside  ?

* Do we see the baggage that we carry from wounds that have have been with us literally our entire life ?
* Do we see see happiness with thoughts of fun times that we had as a kid growing up ?
What is the Real You ?
                   Is the real you real or is a person that your trying to be ?
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Whats going in business?

Posted on June 16, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

Personal incomes and spending for April were a key newsmaker last week. Incomes for the month ticked down by $5.6 billion, or less than 0.1 percent, while personal consumption expenditures (PCE) declined $20.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, according to data released last week by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Disposable personal income (DPI; income after taxes) also saw a slight decrease in April of $16.1 billion, or 0.1 percent. Real disposable income (DPI adjusted for inflation) increased 0.1 percent in April, and real PCE increased 0.1 percent.

Personal outlays — PCE, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments — dropped by $21.7 billion in April. Personal saving — DPI less personal outlays — grew to $306.9 billion in April from $301.4 billion in March. This put April’s personal saving rate (personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income) at 2.5 percent.

Turning to employment, first-time claims for unemployment insurance filed during the week ending May 25 hit 354,000, an increase of 10,000 claims from the prior week’s revised figure of 344,000, the Employment and Training Administration reported. The four-week moving average was 347,250, a gain of 6,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 340,500.

The total number of unemployed Americans covered by unemployment insurance during the week ending May 18 grew to 2,986,000, a gain of 63,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 2,923,000, the Administration also reported. The four-week moving average was 2,986,500, a drop of 11,500 from the preceding week’s revised average of 2,998,000.

While personal incomes and spending showed minimal change and jobless benefits were up, overall consumer opinions showed some optimism. The Conference Board reported last week that its Consumer Confidence Index for May grew to 76.2 (a baseline of 100 was set in 1985) from 69 in April. The Present Situation Index — how consumers feel about their current economic circumstance — hit 66.7 in May from April’s 61, the Board reported. The Expectations Index — how consumers expect the economy to fare — advanced to 82.4 in May from April’s 74.3.

Other consumer studies released last week echoed The Conference Board’s finding. The Index of Consumer Sentiment grew to 84.5 from 76.4 in April, according to last week’s release from the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The survey’s current conditions index increase to 98 in May from 89.9 in April, and consumer expectations for May grew to 75.8 from 67.8.

This week, we can expect:

Monday — April construction spending from the Census Bureau; May car and truck sales from the automakers.

Tuesday — April trade balance from the Census Bureau.

Wednesday — First quarter productivity figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; April factory orders from the Census Bureau.

Thursday — Initial jobless claims for last week from the Employment and Training Administration.

Friday — April consumer credit from the Federal Reserve; May payrolls, unemployment rate, hourly earnings and average workweek from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Generational Curses

Posted on June 15, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

Have you ever seen a family where the father has a problem with uncontrollable anger, his son seems to have been ‘handed it’, and the grandpa had the same problem? Or have you noticed that not only do you suffer from something such as persistent irrational fears or depression, but your mother and her father also suffered from it as well? There are many people today who are living under bondage that the sins of their forefathers has brought them under.

Exodus 34:7, “Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting (punishing) the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

Lamentations 5:7, “Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne (been punished for) their iniquities.”

This is beyond learned behavior; many children learn to be messy if their parents are messy. This is a spiritual bondage that is passed down from one generation to another. Some symptoms of a generational curse is a continual negative pattern of something being handed down from generation to generation. Often people who are adopted end up with the same characteristics as their birth parents, not because they were around their birth parents to learn how they behaved, but because they inherited their spiritual bondage. Some common symptoms of generational curses are family illnesses that seem to just walk from one person down to the next (cancer is a common physical manifestation of a spiritual bondage), continual financial difficulties (they continually hit roadblocks in their finances), mental problems, persistent irrational fears and depression. Anything that seems to be a persistent struggle or problem that was handed down from one generation to another may very well be a generational curse.

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Where are they now ?

Posted on June 13, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

When I passed my Real Estate exam in 2000 – the market was flooded with Licensed Realtors. Everyone wanted to sell Real Estate because the market was hot. You could put a house on the market and in about 2 weeks you had a full price offer on it. The number of Licensed Realtors has dropped and continues to drop monthly as the market makes a different turn and different shifts. Where are those Realtors now ?

Then I started thinking about everything that has happened since 2000 – 9-11 attacks in New York, Katrina and recently the collapse of the Real Estate market. So my question is WHERE ARE THEY NOW ? Where are the people who were in the news ?

Steven Segal – 7th Degree Black Belt, movie star is now working in Jefferson Parish ( Louisiana ) for the Sherriff department with his own show on A&E.

Bart Ward – Robin from the TV Show – Batman and Robin – Runs a charity with his wife called Gentle Giants Rescue and Adoptions, Inc. that rescues and cares for abandoned Great Dane dogs.

Charlene Tilton – played Lucy Ewing – TV Show ‘ Dallas ‘ – Tilton continues to appear on television, most recently on the WE Channel’s show, You’re Wearing That?, which aired on August 26.

So as you consider whether you should stick it out in Real Estate or move on to a new career – keep in mind that someday someone might be posting a blog post about you wondering ” Where are they now ? “

Who knows you might just have your own Radio Show like me.

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Self Esteem

Posted on June 12, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

Many people will go through their life angry, upset, having feelings of shame or guilt – not knowing why they are the way that they are.

What I have found is that most people will carry their baggage of hurt with them not even realizing that they can let go of it. How easy would it be to let go but instead we feel so comfortable holding on to it because afterall ” I’ve held it for so long – I don’t think I can let go of it ” Does that describe you ?

One of the commandments is ” Love your neighbor as yourself ” . This is a commandment that is not foreign to you – you have heard it for years. But the question is, if you don’t love yourself – how can you love others ? Is it possible to love others without loving yourself ? What would that look like…….would it be an intimate love where you accept people as they are without any judgements ? Or, would it be loving people on the surface without any meaningful relationships attached ?

If you want to work on your own self – esteem and get to a place where you TRULY love yourself – I suggest you find out more about my Steps To Winning Seminar.

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More to This Life!

Posted on June 11, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

Back in February of 2007 I attended a 3 day seminar that absolutely changed my life. Everything that I thought that was important – I realized that my priorities were all wrong. As I drove home this song came to my head. I couldn’t get rid of it….I turned on the radio to get rid of the song. I finally had to pull over because this song was playing so loud that I couldn’t even drive. As I sang this song, the words hit me and hit me hard.

It was then that I decided it was time to live my life to help other people and quit putting the focus on just me.

There is more to this life – the decision is yours. What will you do with it and who will you affect with your life ?

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Ohio reveals high exchange rates – how much will your state cost you ?

Posted on June 10, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

Ohio officials said late Thursday that health insurance costs will increase “significantly” under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The state’s department of insurance estimated the average individual premium will increase from $223 per month to $420 — an average of 88 percent — for policies under President Obama’s health care law.

Related news: Feds to run high-risk plan in Ohio

The department noted the rate filings are preliminary, and rates could change.

“We’ve warned of these increases since a state-specific study in 2011 indicated Ohio would be significantly impacted by the ACA,” Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor said in a statement. “The Department’s initial analysis of the proposed rates show consumers will have fewer choices and pay much higher premiums for their health insurance starting in 2014.”

A total of 14 carriers filed proposed rates for 214 different plans to the department for the newly formed exchange. Projected costs from the companies for providing coverage for the required essential health benefits ranged from $282.51 to $577.40 for individual health insurance plans, officials said.

The analysis didn’t take into account the impact that government subsidies may have on what Ohioans could pay.

The federal government is running Ohio’s exchange, as the state chose not to run its own.

Ohio is among the first states to say PPACA will cause significant price hikes. Last month, California released its sample rates, touting the fact that premiums will be lower-than-expected under PPACA. For the most part, California’s rates emerged as less expensive than expected, with supporters of the law claiming it was a “home run” for consumers. Some critics, though, called out Covered California, the agency tasked with setting up the exchange, for making an apples-to-oranges comparison.

Ohio’s insurance department said it released the information this month to “help health insurance consumers continue to prepare for the expected price increases.”

Last week, a study from Milliman consulting firm found that individual premiums, on average, will increase 25 percent to 40 percent due to PPACA. The firm focused on premiums for individual and group comprehensive medical insurance plans in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin.

via Ohio reveals high exchange rates | BenefitsPro.

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The Professor and the Mayonnaise Jar

Posted on June 9, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

Picture When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else—the small stuff.

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

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How does a person feel who has been molested ?

Posted on June 8, 2013 by robertjrussellcompanies

There are many emotions that a person who has been molested feels. Shame. Guilt. Anger. The one that haunts them the most is the feeling that it is their fault; that they could have prevented it. This shame if it happens at an early age can affect relationships dealing with trust, vulnerability and feeling isolated.

This is a clip from one of the best movies of all time. If you feel like someone you know would benefit from this – share it with them. You might bless them with this more than you will ever know.

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