Category Archives: Personal

Five Things To Stop Doing – My Take

December 28, 2011 Mitch Mitchell 20 Comments

A recommendation I’ve made on this blog when it comes to finding things to write about from time to time is to write about an article you read somewhere else and give your take on it. In this case it works well for me because the blog in question has a comment system I don’t feel like dealing with and yet I have something to say.

Gonna be on fire in 2012!

The article is written by Dorie Clark on the Harvard Business Review site and it’s titled Five Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012. I loved the article for the most part, and because I think you should check it out I’m not going to repost everything she wrote. But I am going to post the specific topics and address them in my own words. Remember, these are things to stop doing:

Responding Like a Trained Monkey. I’d have to say that this is the hardest thing for me. I trained myself years ago to stop answering the phone if I didn’t know who was calling, even for business calls, and that’s eased my mind a lot. However, I still find that I have certain online habits that I wish I could break, and other habits I need to create to make a healthier me, such as eating better, resting more, and coming to grips with the reality that I don’t have to try to produce something new every few minutes, or respond to chess moves or any of the few other games I play online, just because someone has made a move. Ridiculous thing to be addicted to; I need to go back to counting things. lol

Mindless Traditions. I’ve been cutting back on Christmas and holiday cards over the years because I can connect with so many of my friends online these days. In the past it was a necessary evil because I might only talk to these folks once a year, that being during the Christmas holiday. As it pertains to traditions in general I’ve given some up that impede what I want to do with my life, while sticking to others because, well, I just have to do it. lol But I don’t find myself stressing over any of them, and that’s the major point here. My mother used to get sick at every holiday when I was a kid; her life is so much healthier now that she’s given that kind of thing up.

Reading Annoying Things. In September 2010 I wrote a post talking about de-stressing my life by not commenting on some blogs and also not reading some things that I knew would irritate me and rile me up. Sometimes you just can’t help reading certain things because they draw you in like quicksand, but for the most part, I’ve been able to stop myself from reading things I knew would either depress or anger me. I don’t like to get into arguments just for the sake of it, but I also know I won’t back down and will offer my opinion when I feel strong enough about the topic. But I also know I don’t know how to let go, so it’s best most of the time to not even go there.

Work That’s Not Worth It. Ten years ago I went into business for myself and celebrated my 10th anniversary in June. I’m not gonig to lie and say that everything has been easy. I will say that working for myself has been pretty satisfying in that I don’t have that daily pressure to perform so someone else can reap all the benefits. I don’t have anyone hanging the risk of being unemployed over my head. I don’t have to deal with making sure I get along with all the other people working at my company. I get to work with whoever I want to, turn down things as I see fit, and all the other benefits that are associated with being independent. Of course I also have to scramble for clients here and there but overall, it’s worth it to me because I get to do what I like.

Making Things More Complicated Than They Should Be. Talk about timing being everything. I had just written an article on my business blog yesterday titled Simple Solutions where I talked about how we tend to look at problems as these major things and spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fix things when sometimes simple solutions are sitting right in front of us. This is one of those things I talk about all the time as it pertains to blogging. Sure, if you have a niche blog maybe things are slightly complicated, but look at how I just got an entire blog post from an idea someone else started. How hard was this?

Wow, that was interesting for me; what do you think? How would you respond to each of these? Hey, why not make this kind of a meme; give your answers on your own blog and invite people to check it out. Or just respond here; I’d love to know how you feel about it.

Personal

Thanksgiving 2011; Is There Anything To Be Thankful For?

November 24, 2011 Mitch Mitchell 23 Comments

Wow, what an interesting calendar year. How things have changed or gone from Thanksgiving last year until now. I’m not only talking about this blog, but my life in general. For this blog, I wrote last year and put up an image of myself with a friend, and then had to tell people that wasn’t my wife; won’t make that mistake this year. lol

This is my wife and I

I’m finding myself wondering if there’s much to be thankful for this year. My grandmother first got hurt, and then passed away. I had to take a guy to small claims court, though I won. I worked on another project that took me more than 4 months to be paid for. The really big projects didn’t come through.

Had my first (last?) colonoscopy and then had a second one on the same day. I had to change diabetes doctors after 11 years. I had a few friends pass away that I wasn’t expecting it to happen to. The local symphony shut down, as well as a few of my favorite restaurants.

I had some issues with affiliates including one, Finish Line that not only didn’t pay me but then decided to drop me and threatened me while they were at it. And this year, for Thanksgiving, my mother is with her friend, my wife is with her friend, and I’m home by myself (at least for now).

Overall, it seems like it was a pretty hard year to deal with. Things to be thankful for? As I sit here trying to think of things there’s not all that much that comes up. However, one of the blessings of blogging is that you sometimes chronicle things that have happened that actually turned out to be a good thing. So let’s see…

I actually began the year by not only getting my first gig just days after the new year began, but I was named at a Fabulous 50 top blogger on the same day. Thanks Bev!

I created two new blogs this year. One is my Syracuse and central New York area blog called Syracuse Wiki. The other is my second business blog on SEO and social media for businesses called SEOX Blog. Both have done relatively well, even if they don’t get tons of comments.

I got to do some live presentations this year. I gave two presentations at a local library, one at a large conference, and one to my consulting group. I might be forgetting something but I’m not sure. I also got to be interviewed on a couple of podcasts and was in Bev Mahone’s real radio program one day this year.

I reached my 1,000th post on this blog and I started creating videos as well. According to YouTube I’m not breaking any records, but at least I’m producing something different.

We finally got Osaba bin Laden, and many other countries are seeing major changes as the people have realized just what kind of power they have… as long as the leaders of those countries decide not to just kill everyone that misbehaves, which also happened a couple of times.

I went to my first karaoke club this year and found it fascinating, although I doubt I’ll go again. I also got to go to Las Vegas for a conference and got a much different experience out of it than the first two times.

My online income started to increase drastically, not quite to the level I’d been hoping for but higher than any other year; that is, until this last Panda update, but even with that I’m going to have my best year ever.

I got personally reacquainted with old friends this year, going first to a reunion at my college, then to a memorial get-together for my friend that recently passed.

I also celebrated my 10th year in business this year; I never really thought I’d make it this long but now that I have I guess I should really learn how to do it better, eh? lol And I’m about to hit post #900 on my business blog, which is almost a shame for as long as I’ve had it compared to this one but hey, a milestone is a milestone.

If I have to be truthful, I’ve met a lot of new and wonderful people this year, both online and off. Even though it was under horrible circumstances I got to meet and get to know my grandmother’s brother, Uncle Bill. I’ve connected with relatives and old friends I never thought I would ever have the opportunity to interact with again via Facebook, so I’m not hating on that.

And finally, even though I continue to battle with diabetes and being tired all the time and vision and occasional short periods of depression and a few other things I won’t mention, when all is said and done I’m relatively healthy, still go to the gym on occasion, still get to go where I want when I want, and still have a lot of people that talk to me via social media, networking events, and just events in general; I even went to some parties this year (actually ate outside once this year at all; that’s Josh’s fault).

All that and the continuing visits from friends both old and new on this blog and my other blogs. I mean, weighted properly, I’d have to say that other than my grandmother not being with us anymore the year has actually given me a lot to be thankful for. With that, I thank all of you for putting up with me, I thank my wife and my mother (both of whom will never read any of this stuff) for hanging in there, and I guess I’ll thank me for not just quitting and going off into the wild blue yonder, however that would have manifested itself (nothing like suicide so don’t go there, but who hasn’t ever had a day when they just wanted to give it all up and go lay in bed forever?).

Thank you all, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving (and if you’re not from this country, I’ll just ask you to take some time and think about what you might be thankful for on this day as well). And just to see who actually reads all of this to the end, click on this link and mention what it is because I’m posting it just for you. 😉

Diabetes, Personal

My Colonoscopy Story

November 12, 2011 Mitch Mitchell 16 Comments

Yesterday I had to have a colonoscopy. For those that don’t live in the United States, it’s recommended that once someone reaches 50 that they have one to verify they don’t have colon cancer and to check for other stuff. I at least got to defer for a couple of years since I rarely go see my doctor for a checkup, but I finally got cornered so it was my turn.

Now, these are fairly common, but there can be issues here and there. They do knock you out, and you do risk a perforated colon, internal bleeding, and a couple of other things. So you can’t just shrug it off and say it’s nothing to worry about, though for the most part it’s relatively safe.

My issue is that I couldn’t get any real information from anyone as to just what could happen being diabetic. You have to fast, and with the medications I take, I’m supposed to have food with them. So, what would happen to me going through the process? That’s the main reason I made the video.

But there’s a few things I didn’t mention in the video while trying to keep it under 15 minutes. For one, By 4PM of the day I was fasting I started getting this massive headache, and that stayed with me almost the rest of the night. I couldn’t take almost anything for it because I wasn’t eating, though my wife did give me an Advil eventually and that took the edge off it.

I was really hungry all day, but wasn’t so hungry the day of the procedure for whatever reason. I still craved pizza, though we had fried rice instead since it was much lighter. That’s their recommendation, eat light and get used to eating again, so I ate small portions pretty much every hour because I was really hungry; today I’m getting my pizza! 🙂

They will ask you over and over what your name is, what your date of birth is, the last 4 digits of your social security number and what you’re having done. Initially I worried they didn’t know what they were doing until I realized that it’s a safety procedure that they’ve put into place to make sure that physicians won’t be doing the wrong procedures anymore, what with all those errors in Florida some years ago. They also kept asking me what I was allergic to.

After the procedure you’ll expel a lot of gas, and that makes them happy. This is one of those “dignity” things I mentioned in the video. There’s stuff we wouldn’t walk around doing in public that they’re expecting you to do. Thing is, there’s no smell because your entire system is cleaned out, and what they’ve done is pushed a bunch of air into your body through your rectum so it has to come out. And be thankful it’s coming out, otherwise you’re going to get cramped and it’s going to hurt. I had that problem during the virtual colonoscopy in the x-ray department, where you’re not under anesthesia and just have to lay there and take it. That’s when you’re on either your side or back; once you roll over onto your stomach, since they take the views from 3 directions, even adding more air wasn’t bad at all.

One last thing. In the video I said that I came out of the anesthesia pretty easily. Most of that is true. I felt clear headed and knew exactly what I was saying and what was going on. I even felt that if I’d had to I could have driven home, which it turns out is illegal once you’ve had anesthesia in New York for at least the day. However, when I had to get up and get into the wheelchair, I found that I wasn’t okay at all, and luckily I didn’t just try to force myself into the chair because I’d have fallen and the nurse wasn’t close to big enough to have held me up if I’d gone down. So, always respect the anesthesia.

I also mentioned that I was given propofol, the same stuff Michael Jackson was given by that doctor. Let me tell you, I understand why he would have wanted this stuff. Although I wasn’t happy with the pressure my head felt when it started to take effect, I feel like I slept well in that short period of time, and I ever dreamed; I’ve never dreamed while under anesthesia before. In its proper dosage it’s wonderful stuff, but I can also tell why one should never, and I mean ever, use it at home.

That’s all I have other than the video below, but if you have any other questions go ahead and ask. This is one of those things that, as younger people we avoid talking about because it kind of scares us, but once you reach the proper age you’re probably going to have to go through. At least I’m telling you what might be coming.

Personal

What Makes People Change?

October 4, 2011 Mitch Mitchell 47 Comments

I have a story to tell. Back in 1993, I heard that a big blizzard was coming to the area. Instead of staying in my apartment I decided to go out of town to my parents house to ride out the storm. I got there just as the snow started to pick up, and by the time it was done where they lived there were 34 inches of extra snow on the ground.

The problem is that where my parents live, as well as where I live, we already had at least 3 to 5 feet of snow on the ground. Since I was at my parents house, we had to deal with the fact that the driveway had totally filled up with snow about four feet high, which meant my car was totally covered. As a matter of fact the entire driveway was so high that there was no way we could have gotten out to the street if an emergency had happened. This was definitely problematic.

Still, Dad and I had to try. So we went out there with our shovels and we started digging. After three hours we actually made a path that allowed us to make it to the street, but it was so thin that it really couldn’t do us much good. We knew there was no way we were ever going to be able to dig out all that snow on our own. We also knew we didn’t have many options.

But something great happened. The guy across the street from my dad looked over, saw the problem we were having, and came over with one of those super heavy duty snowplows. It took him about an hour, but he was able to clear the entire driveway of snow except for around my car, which Dad and I took care of. We were very thankful that he did that for us, and that was the day we met Doug.

Doug and his family were very nice to us, and we tried to be nice to them. His daughter Mackenzie became a fan of my dad, and he would always talk to her when he saw her outside. Whenever I would visit Doug would pop over and say a few words to me, but I never really got to know him all that well. However, the day my dad passed away, as he was being driven to the hospital in the ambulance, Doug came over and put his arms around me as I cried for the first time since I was nine years old. The next day he said that he would always look out for my mother and make sure that she would be fine.

A couple years later Doug’s life changed. His mother passed away, he got divorced from his wife, and she and his daughter moved away and we’ve never seen them again. I noticed some changes in him as well even though I didn’t see them all that often. I don’t think one ever forgets what it looks like when someone may be doing certain types of drugs, and even though it’d been years since I’d seen it in someone, I knew it was there.

Then at some point some people moved into his house, and I would see these children sitting out on the front step or playing in the driveway. I didn’t get to meet any of them until the day we buried my grandmother, when I had to go over to their house to pick up some flowers that have been delivered to our house, but nobody had been home and they had been left at his house. On that day I met his new wife and one of her three children, and he seemed very happy.

Last Wednesday I went to visit my mother, and after I parked in the driveway something said to me that I should go over and talk to Doug. I still had a bad feeling about things and I wasn’t sure why. But I decided it wasn’t my place to intrude so I didn’t go. Sometimes you just can’t act on the Spidey senses if you know what I mean.

Friday night I got a call from my mother saying that there were a lot of police cars and a couple of ambulances across the street at Doug’s house. She didn’t have any idea what was going on, and she hadn’t seen anybody including the children, but it reminded her of when they took my grandmother to the emergency room.

My mother is not necessarily the nosy type, so she wasn’t about to go outside to find out what was going on. But the next day we found out. Based on the information we have, Doug’s new wife had been stabbed to death and he was charged with second-degree murder. I don’t know if the children saw anything, but at least the children were safe. When I saw his picture in the newspaper I was sad; how had things gone so wrong in this man’s life?

I wonder about the types of things that make people change so drastically. When I met him he seemed to have a very good life. His house was brand new just like my parents house. His daughter at the time was maybe two years old, and his wife was very attractive. He had a very good job as well; it was one of those jobs where if he hit his yearly quota early he could take the rest of the year off, and he had done that for a few years in a row. He seemed to be the nicest guy, always in control if a little crazy.

But strange as it seems, most of us change in some fashion as time goes on. We have certain life events that we end up taking new clues from and altering our perceptions in some way. I know that I’m more sensitive to things both personal and in the world since my dad passed away. I’ll also cry from time to time if something hits me a certain way, and for someone who went 34 years between crying that’s somewhat irksome.

But I’ve retained my integrity, and in some ways I’m less forgiving than I used to be when people violate my three principal mores of loyalty, honesty, and trustworthiness. I like to think that the changes I’ve allowed to be made in my life have not impeded the way I try to treat people. Unfortunately, even though there’s still a trial to come, I know I can’t say the same thing for Doug.

Sometimes relatively good people do bad things that are just unforgivable. In this instance there are three children who don’t have a mother and will have to find their way on their own in life. How do these things happen?

Personal

September 11, 2011; Ten Years Later

September 11, 2011 Mitch Mitchell 20 Comments

Today is the 10th anniversary of the most vicious act of terrorism ever on American soil. Four airplanes caused a lot of people to lose their lives; three of those airplanes caused mass destruction as well. And the world hasn’t been the same since.

A couple of days ago a friend of mine asked me why we couldn’t just move on, not necessarily forget but ease on the pain and move on. I said that this is a country that honors those who were killed mercilessly, who were caught up in the madness of someone else. That’s why there’s tributes for Oklahoma City; that’s why there’s tributes for the Lockerbie airplane bombing; that’s why there’s tributes to Pearl Harbor. And that’s why there’s tributes to those killed on 9/11/01. The pain may ease, should ease, but we’ll never forget; just not in our nature.

The video you’re about to watch, if you do, are my thoughts on what happened that day and what’s happened to the world since that day. It’s a much different place than it was 10 years ago. And I also honor and give tribute to some people, and have always been thankful, though it might be selfish, that I didn’t know anyone who lost their life on that day.

You might be surprised by one thing I say in the video after you see the links, if you visit any of these links that I post. First the video, then the links, from this blog and my business blog.