Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Behavior: 1,2,3 Magic

I am not sure if I have mentioned this book before, but I was a teacher before I had children and had not problems controlling my class. My son stumped me as far a behavior. My daughter is doing the same thing now. I started this books method with my son at around 15months and my daughter is 23months and I have been doing it again. I have found it to work very well for us.

My daughter has recently started saying NO to everything that I ask and taking her clothes off after I dress her. I use the 1,2,3 method and she knows I mean business. My son used to do dangerous things, like climb onto tables and jump off the couch arms. It worked for that as well.

1,2,3 Magic by Dr. Thomas Phelan

Monday, December 5, 2011

Interview with Mark Cuban about his new book, "How To Win At The Sport Of Business"

I recently interviewed Mark Cuban about his new book. For those of you who don't know Mark Cuban, he is a self made billionaire. He is a hard working, creative, entrepreneur. He is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, chairman of HDTV cable network HDNet, and owner of Landmark Theaters.

Many mommies who want to start a business are struggling to make ends meet

but you argue in your book, that some of the best businesses took little
to nothing to start. Why do you encourage entrepreneurs not to wait for
financing to start?


Because effort is always more important than cash.

There are many young moms who are just beginning their lives and can relate to
you when you said you were sharing a small apartment with 6 people and
sleeping on the floor. How can someone keep their eye on the prize when they’re
living on Ramen noodles?


Who cares how you are living today? I loved every minute of living in
that dump. The low rent and utilities and eating Mac n’ Cheese all
the time allowed me to afford the startup of my business. Instead of
paying myself much, I could put it in to
my business.

You knew Michael Dell of Dell Computers before he was the Michael Dell.
What can you say about being nice to people on the way up?


It's a whole lot easier to be nice to people than not to be. There are
times when you have to be tough, but a smile not only goes further,
but it makes you feel better about yourself as well.


You encourage entrepreneurs not to hire a public relations firm, Mark. How did you get the word out about your eBook?

I tweeted, posted on Facebook, [used] Google Plus and responded to emails. Nothing more.

One of my favorite parts of your book, How to Win at the Sport of Business, that completely broke my heart was when your ex-secretary robbed your first company of over $83,000, leaving you only $2000 after a year of work. If there are moms out there that have lost everything,
what advice do you have for them to pick themselves back up?


Keep working. Don’t feel sorry for yourself because it won’t do any good.

Looking back, destiny seemed to lead you from one opportunity where you
would learn a life skill to another. Do you believe in fate or luck and
how much of that has to do with hard or smart work?


There were a lot of things I didn’t write
about. So, it’s not necessarily
a direct jump from one skill to another. Starting and running a
business can be a lot of long hours. You just have to get after it and
not let up.

You were seemingly unfocused and not sure about what you want to do when
you were younger. What advice do you have to parents who are worried if their
child will ever be somebody?


No amount of
worrying is going to change things for them. They have to
figure it out for themselves. At some point, it is theirs to do or not
do.


Where can we get a copy of your eBook, How to Win at the Sport of Business?
Anywhere eBooks are sold: Amazon, BN.com, and sites that support independent bookstores too.