AWESOME: Little things that made me smile in "THE BOOK OF AWESOME."

Usually when things go south (like the “new normal” seems to be these days), most people follow the flow and become hopeless, depressed, frustrated and angry— a very human way to deal with tough times— but luckily not the only way.   Fortunately for those of us who firmly believe in the paradigm shift (the way we see the problem, it’s the problem!), there are a few people (typically the ordinary type) who decide to control what’s in their power.  That’s the case of Canadian HR worker, Neil Pasricha, who going through a divorce in 2008, decides to turn his worst year into something positive by writing about just one thing and one thing only that he would find awesome on a daily basics.  Although not a writer, Neil attracted thousands of followers to his “1000 Awesome Things” Blog and landed a book deal, appropriately titled, “The Book of Awesome.”

It’s the little things that we forget about (our brain is quick to register negative emotions better), as described by the publisher, the Book of Awesome is "a high five for humanity and big celebration of life's little moment," The Book of Awesome reminds us that the best things in life are truly free and universal.

In simple words tinted with a bit of Seinfeld’s sarcasm, thousands of awesome things are highlighted in the book. Some of my favorites are:

• Popping Bubble Wrap

• Wearing underwear just out of the dryer

• Fixing electronics by smacking them

• Getting called up to the dinner buffet first at a wedding

• Watching The Price Is Right when you're home sick

• Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row

• Waking up and realizing it's Saturday

Despite the success of his blog and the release of his book, Pasricha said he has no intentions of changing his daily life in a phone interview with Reuters.  "I commute an hour a day to a job in the suburbs and I work in a cubicle," he said. "I like work because I like the people I work with. I'm not a writer and I don't know how to use a semicolon. I just like observing the world and documenting it."

Learning from ordinary lives and people, we find the best solutions ever.  And that to me, it’s awesome!

Carmen Bracamonte is curious, inquisitive about the world we live in — and leads The Market To Flip initiative where she advocates about social media and marketing with responsibility.  

Q&A: BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE ME THE COURTESY? CASUAL CONVERSATIONS

At 14% unemployment rate, Pasco County can still be a land of opportunity for individuals and business owners.  Lower taxes (compared to other counties in Tampa Bay) and virgin areas to build, with improved highways and commercial areas, Pasco shows potential.    A recent visit to The Shoppes of  Wiregrass made me realize about the power of open space and sharing with the economic and ecological sustainability in mind.  Well, probably not.   Sharing isn’t necessarily encouraged as I found out from my casual conversation with Howard Cohen, general manager at Pagelli’s Italiano restaurant, one of the most recent tenants joining the Wiregrass Mall. 

From live entertainment to delicious Italian menus and memorable family experience, Pagelli’s Italiano makes its mark in the enchanting new mall.  Of course, Howard Cohen and his staff make its contribution with their friendly attitude.  Frankly, I was impressed with Howard’s candid ability to join the conversation. 

Q.  What brought you to Wesley Chapel in the face of a tough economy?

A.    The Shoppes of Wiregrass is a new and clean mall, very organized, safe and open space that people like (management does a good job!) and despite the economy, people still eat and need to enjoy family time.  At “Pagelli’s,” we have different menus for all pockets and tastes; including for those “conscious healthy” customers, who may be watching calories.

Q.    Although far from the beach, The Shoppes of Wiregrass appeal beautifully to the eye with its clean, almost sand-white walking ways, but there’s always something to improve, what do you think?

A.    Well, management is good! They have music-live on Thursdays and other events on the weekends for all ages.  The only thing is that I wish there’s more cooperation among other business owners.  For example, we’d like to pay management the fee for valet parking (let’s say on weekends) so our customers don’t have to pay for parking.  But only two or three owners will be on-board but others not.  The lack of cooperation makes it a not too good business practice; and I believe something should be done about it.

Q.  Perhaps, management needs to be more proactive to bring co-op solutions among tenants so everyone can have a fair share.

A.    That would be ideal.  Perhaps we need to change the way we see things (it’s part of our culture to do things alone, eat and get fat . . .).  We’ll see.

We could talk with Howard for hours (as I said, he’s very friendly and fan to be around) but Howard had to get on with his job. So I thanked him for his time and views.  

On a more practical note, we believe that “cooperation” is the new normal in business today.  We promised Howard that we will bring some ideas to management in The Shoppes of Wiregrass and that we’ll keep him posted on our progress.  

SPOTLIGHT: HOW TO GREEN MY PARENTS

With “Earth Week” celebrations, we went over 1,000 online subscriptions to most reliable sources and spotlighted amazing kids joining the Green My Parents initiative, a national youth movement committed to save over $100 million, seed the green economy and save the planet.  Starting where? Closer than you can imagine — Home. 

But before you start, learn to read utility bills, and teach Mom & Dad to do the same. Knowing how much money you spend on electricity, water, gas, etc. will prove how much you save your family. With these steps, an average family could save over $1000.

§       Shop Smart. Stop wasting astronomical amounts of money: Study ENERGY STAR. You just killed all the vampires. Don’t invite another energy sucker into your home. Before buying new stuff, find out how much energy and/or water it uses. AJ, a GMP Champion, crunched the numbers for a refrigerator on its last legs. He gave his mom a list of ENERGY STAR fridges and cost savings. Their new fridge pays for itself in three years– average savings is $51 per year.

§       Play “Where did my food come from?” A fun, mealtime game ‘Hey, where did this tomato soup, these fish sticks, that salad, come from?’ Start with the youngest person at the table. Let them pick one thing on their plate and ask the question. Challenge your parents to reduce the number of miles travelled for every food item on your plate!

§       Shower shorter. Take a 90-minute shower…spread over 30 days. Every 5 minutes wastes up to 25 gallons– that’s 8000 gallons a year. Get your family down to 3 minutes. You’ll need a timer. A family of four could save over $50.

§       When it comes to walking, step it up. Challenge your parents to choose one regular, neighborhood route- a trip to the store, school drop-off, or a night at the movies. Now tell them to walk or bike it. Remind them that the bus, walking, biking or carpooling are not “alternative” transportation for kids. Save about half a gallon of gas per trip or $75 a year.

§       No, Speedracer, No! What’s the best way to save time, gas and money driving to school or work? Leave earlier. Teach your parents that speeding barely saves time, but increases the costs of fuel, tickets and insurance. For every 10 miles, driving 65 instead of 55 saves less than 2 minutes. Tell them to slow down: boost miles per gallon (MPG) up to 30% and save over $150 a year.

§       Drive your age, not your shoe size. Show your parents the most efficient cars on the road. It they are over 40, try a hybrid: some of them get over 40 MPG. Show your grandparents the all-electric vehicles coming out in 2011: the Nissan Leaf gets 367 MPG. Hybrids could save over $900 a year on gas.

§       Kick the bottle. Think the price of gas is hard to swallow? Try bottled water! Bottled water can be over $6 a gallon– twice the price gas. People say you should drink 8 glasses each day. If you drink bottled water, you could be throwing away $1000 a year. Help your parents kick their habit: invest in a filter and portable canteens.

HOW TO: MAKE YOUR BUSINESS WEBSITE MORE SOCIAL

Whether or not you have in-house staff or outsource your website projects (design and maintenance), you invest not only money but a lot of energy because they can be time-consuming.  Yes! You’re not alone!  Many business owners (if not all) today face the same challenge.  If you’re waiting to catch up with technology, it’ll be smarter on your part to take immediate action in the right direction.  Make your website more social and focus on delivering appropriate value to your customers.   Simply consider these ideas.

§       Encourage participation by design — If you sell/buy products or services, make it easier for your customers to do “reviews” and “comments.”  A website that provides widgets to blogs and social media forums are real winners because they create a way to allow customers express their opinions through product reviews; say what they want and need, and you have direct control to act quickly over any negative publicity.  Good examples of this initiative are Pepsi, Amazon and Best Buy.  

§       Invest on a Search Engine Optimization Strategy — As search engine optimization changes and social media becomes a bigger part of marketing, companies who build a social corporate web presence on their own site will be positioned for better rankings, more on-site activity and potentially more leads. 



Contrary to popular belief, there are grass-roots ways to see the R.O.I. on your online marketing campaigns.  Social media done correctly — and with social responsibility — can substantially payoff as quickly as 3 to 6 months.

Carmen Bracamonte is curious, inquisitive about the world we live in — and leads The Market To Flip initiative where she advocates about social media and marketing responsibility.  

IMAGINE THAT: YELLOW/RED LIGHTS. ANYWAYS, YOU COULD BE FINED!

We should start exploring Tampa Bay walking or biking, a must-do idea for local urban developers and legislators; otherwise, we are just going to need to get a part-time job to paid traffic violation fees.  As reported by Fox News: “A bill setting statewide guidelines for the use of automatic cameras to fine motorists who run red lights has gotten a yellow light in the Florida House. The measure (SB 325) was delayed Friday so the House could tend to other matters and may have to wait until next week for a vote. It would authorize the cameras that dozens of cities have already installed on questionable legal authority. Violators would be fined $158. It's named for 30-year-old Mark Wandall, who was killed near Bradenton by a red-light runner in 2003.  His wife, Melissa, was eight months pregnant with their first child.  A similar bill (SB 2166) is set for a vote in the Senate next week.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKET INSIGHTS, WHAT MEANS FOR LOCAL BUSINESS?

The power is in  the numbers.  Although we need to continue working in small communities and networks, we cannot deny  the power of social media today.  Done correctly, the sky is the limit.  Use it to pitch your customers, followers and funs. 


At Carmen Bracamonte & Market To Flip we make social media easy. Just contact us and we will answer any questions you may have.


Do you know?


Facebook surpassed Google in weekly hits to become the most visited website in the U.S., according to Hitwise. Facebook accounted for 7.07% of visits in the week ending March 13, 2010, topping Google’s 7.03%. Facebook almost tripled its visits from a year earlier, compared with 9% growth at Google.


Reported by:
Bloomberg News | 3.18.10
Iconoculture | 4.13.10

LOOK: NEIGHBORHOODS MAKING A POSITIVE CHANGE

As a result of a growing interest in healthier lifestyles and customer requests for healthier dining options, the Pinellas County Health Department has introduced the “Healthy Choices Restaurant Program.” The local restaurants that display the Healthy Choices Restaurant decal have promised to offer sensible solutions for overabundant waistlines by offering “Take Half Home” or “Cook to Order” options.
A few of Clearwater’s participating restaurants are listed below. For a full list of “Healthy Choices Restaurants,” or more information on this program, go to Pinellas Wellness.
Country Harvest 33983 US Hwy 19 N
Nature’s Food Patch 1225 Cleveland St.

Quizno’s Subs 1530 McMullen Booth Rd.