James's Blog

New Membership Record

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:29:56 -0500

The Group About Absolutely Nothing membership has soared smashing all previous records! And without any promotion during the last six months. We are now up to 86 members...proving that you can make something from nothing! So let's try to break that magic number of 100 members. Please invite all your friends on active rain and remember .... keep having fun.

James Frazier Group Founder

www.jamesfrazier.com

A simple idea to help ourselves and our ailing economy

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:42:07 -0600

OK, I am no financial wizard but then those guys don't seem to be very effective anyway so I thought I would share an idea I have that might help anyone as well as stimulate our failing economy. While many people may be wondering whether to put their money into gold as a hedge against the crashing stock market, and others are scrambling to get their assets liquid, I suspect that for the vast majority of us the amount of money that we had saved up may not be all that much or even if it is, the interest we might earn by pulling money out of the stock market and putting it into a saving account will barely offset inflation.

What the economy needs is for us to be spending, but with the current uncertainty most folks are pulling back which in turn hurts the economy even more. It becomes a vicious cycle. (Yes, I know that we should have been saving all along but now may not be the best time for the economy to have everyone suddenly become conservative in their spending). So, what if we could have our cake and eat it too so to speak. What if there was some mechanism to help us save as well as spend? I believe that there is a simple, effective method that will help. I freely admit that this is not a "solution" but I do believe that it will benefit everyone if implemented.

So what is my grandiose plan? Simple really; to save money while spending money, determine what supplies that you will always be using, Soap, Paper Towels, Bath supplies, cleaning supplies, etc. Now determine how much of those products that you will use over the next year. Next how much money can you afford to spend (save). Next look for sales where the price of any given product is reduced by 20% (not hard to do if you shop around) that is far more than you are likely to earn in either stocks, bonds, or saving. Buy a year’s supply when those items are on sale. You "earn" 20% on your money, you have your assets in usable convertible currency in that this is stuff you are going to buy over time anyway and the retailers get a shot in the arm.

If only 10% of our population spent $1000 on these have-to-use items it would rapidly add 30 billion to the economy. OK, it is not much when compared to where we are but is it a small step and doesn't really cost anyone but rather saves them money. It is a win- win. You earn a high rate of return in the form of savings and the retailers get to move inventory.

Where are you going to earn 20% on your money in the next year? If you like this idea, try it and pass it on. Maybe if enough people endorse this we could start a movement and get the retailers to active participate. I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

James Frazier, MA Pesonal Development Coach www.JamesFrazier.com

Beware of cut and paste- you may lose your points

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:44:52 -0500

As many of you know, I have, on occasion, railed against people who cut and paste from Internet sources and then pass it off as their own work despite the fact that with every post Active Rain makes you check a box stating that you are not doing so. Well, now they have put some teeth into their stated policy and have hired an employee to check to make sure members are not plagiarizing material. I urge you to read this post.

ActiveRain New Hire - Welcome Harlen 'The Copyright Crusader'

Membership skyrockets in Paris Group

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:32:41 -0500

Well we started with Robert Monk and then me and now look where we are...... 12 souls are members and perhaps many more are reading them. 12 is a very good number for sure but I would love to see some more folks joins us Paris lovers. What say you out there?

Group Membership Drive

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:19:14 -0500

Well friends, this group has reached an all time high of 76 in just shy of a year. Tomorrow is the big anniversary so lets push for some more members. Invite your friends and neighbors..the more the merrier. Let's see how viral we can be by tomorrow. If everyone in the group invited just a couple of others we might be able to reach 100 by tomorrow!

Coming regulation???

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:26:43 -0500

Someone may have pointed this out already. If so, my apologies. This is an interesting article about the push for licensure for Interior Designers. In some states they are going after furniture dealers because they help clients design their space without having a licensured interior designer on staff. This may affect stagers in some areas. this is the link: http://www.idpcinfo.org/MMQB.pdf

Parable:

Jesus and the Devil were walking down the road when Jesus spotted a bright beautiful shiny object laying on the road in front of them. He said, "What a beautiful object" and then immediately the Devil said, "yes, here, give to me and I'll organize it for you".

Beware of geeks bearing gifts in the form of "certification and regulation"...

If Ponitus Pilate had been a smart politician instead of a dumb Roman bureaucrat, he could have subverted the entire Christian movement simply by giving Jesus a 5,000 shekel grant to open up a boys home to treat Samaratians. A year later the carpenter would have been buried in paper work and increasing certification regulations that included Continuing Education Units, plus the new fire escape, and a psychiatric social worker.

Please read this BEFORE you post to this group!!!!!!!

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 11:26:24 -0600

Despite several attempts on my part to clarify and bring consciousness to the ongoing problem of people simply cutting and pasting articles from sources that they then fail to acknowledge, which results in the appearance that they have written the material themselves, this group continues to experience this problem. I have gone out of my way to try to make the various issues and angles to this known and even managed to piss off a few people in the process.

So I find myself, once again, in the thankless task of going parental and having to send out a notice that this type of posting will not be tolerated. I do not like being out into the position of "policeman" and I will not yet call or single out any one individual, however, as founder of this group, I will also not be a party to plagiarism. Copying content from another website and pasting it into your blog post without giving credit is stealing, full stop.

Not only is this an issue of stealing the content, it is also a question of fairness. Blogs are supposed to be your writing or if they are not they should be properly referenced to so state. Those who simply cut and paste and get points for doing do are gaining points unfairly. Anyone can do a cut and paste, it is another matter to write your own material. This is not to say you cannot use others ideas, rewrite their material in your own interpretation, or even share an original article in it's entirety-as long as you give proper credit to them (there are copyright laws that govern the quoting of original material but usually quoting less than three paragraphs without express permission is acceptable as long as it is properly referenced. Anything beyond that needs written permission).

I founded this group so people could get points for whatever they wrote on any subject BUT not as a cut and paste point accumulator site! There were many times when I saw that my own postings and those of others did not really fit the theme of the group that they were posted in so I want to create a place for all those oddball post. I am going to post this in a featured post which will ask everyone to read before they post. After this date any post found to be a cut and paste will be simply deleted. And if the problem continues to the degree that it has, I may be forced to close the group, which will make me very sad but my own sense of ethics will not allow me to sit silently by while other's work is pilfered and passed off as original. I realize that many people are under the false impression that anything on the web is public domain and free to use in any way that they wish. This is simply not true. I also realize that some here are not academically trained and, therefore, may plead ignorance of the rules, customs, and conventions as well as the importance of proper referencing of others material. That excuse does not hold water, however, when viewed against the glaringly obvious fact that Active Rain itself asks everyone who posts -each and every time they post- whether on not the material is original (that means that you wrote it yourself) or, if not, do you have permission to quote it. In fact you cannot post on Active Rain without hitting the button to verify the answer to this question. If you are copying and don't have permission then you should at the very least have the consciousness to reference it properly so that it is not passed off as you own. There are some exceptions to this like posting a You Tube video because the You Tube logo is embedded in the clip.

I can only say that if this upsets you and you feel you have the right to copy others without giving them credit, then feel free to do so- just don't do it here. Cut and paste articles are fairly easy to spot and very easy to check and verify. So please have the decency to reference the original author and where the article or item was published if you are going to cut and paste. Not only is this the honest and honorable thing to do, it just makes us look more professional.

Giving Credit where it is due

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:05:22 -0600

This is an old subject but it seems to need revisiting every few months so here it is again. Please take a moment and read it.

Let me preface this blog by saying I have no wish to perform the Labours of Sisyphus attempting to police postings on Active Rain. That said however, as a writer, I am forced to make a plea for giving credit where credit is due. Every writer is entitled to copyright on her/his material and the right to control when and where it is used as well as getting proper credit for said works. Many people assume that just because something is posted on the Internet if is free to all. They assume they can just "cut and paste" and then put it in their own blog without even taking the time or courtesy of stating where they got the material.

This is unfair for a number of reasons:

1) It is illegal as most material on the Internet is copyrighted and should not be used without the express permission of the author.

2) Active Rain ask each and every time you post if this is original material or if not do you have permission to use it. That's right its the final button you have to click before you post. So if you cut and paste and then click this button you are be less than truthful if it is not yours or you do not have permission to use it. There is a box to check if you have permission to use copyrighted and in addition the pop-up box plainly ask the following: "Please confirm that this entry does not contain copyrighted material. Posting copyrighted material without permission WILL result in being removed from Active Rain. Post entry?"

It is usually considered acceptable to quote short pieces from someone's article- two or three sentences-as long as you cite the source by giving the author's name and the publication as well as the date and and other information that would allow anyone to look up the original article. The key here is citing the source; that way it does not appear as if you are attempting to pass it off as you own.

3) It undermines our professionalism and creditability. There is plenty to say without ripping off other people. How would you feel if you discovered that someone was taking your original writing and doing a cut and paste without giving you proper credit or asking your permission.

Even if the material is obviously meant for public domain have the courtesy of citing the original source if possible or at least where you found it. That way you are not implying that it is your writing.

I am posting this on some of the groups I am most active with here in the Rain. Please let this serve as notice for the Group about absolutely nothing . If you post non-original material and fail to give credit for it you will be warned and then if you fail to correct it by citing the source, your post will be removed.

I ain't dead yet #$^&^$#@!

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 09:51:56 -0600

I am still here although I have been absent the last couple of weeks...long story...anyway, I am regrouping and will be back full force shortly. Meanwhile check out the new gadget that I have on my profile. Jeff Turner told me about it and it is way cool. You can record messages from you cell phone and they show up on your widget! Check it out. (sorry Jeff I have tried repeatedly to link to your post) Look at Jeff Turner latest blog post for more information (use the search function>profiles>jeff Turner)

Mr Mental Health

Questions

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:20:41 -0500

Although I have asked this question before, I want to give it another shot. Can anyone recommend a really really good sync option/program/service to sync Outlook 2007 between two or more computers. There seem to be a wide variety of options but before I put down the cash, I was hoping to get some reviews form any one who may have actually used said programs. It defies the imagination why Microsoft seems to go out of their way NOT to provide easy backup or sync options on one of the most ubiquitous e-mail and contact management programs on the planet!

Irony

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:13:43 -0500

Sometimes people like me just need a good hobby. The absence of said hobby leads to all sorts of problems and vexations. I tend to notice small things that really should be ignored but they stay with me and I turn them over in my mind again and again until I am nearly bursting at the seams to speak about them (or often rant about them,as the case may be). I am apt to point out small examples of stupidity such as the recent case where I insured a 27 foot Winnebago motor home and was asked by the insurance agent if I planned to use this for recreation or driving back and forth to work less than 10 miles! I wanted to reply, " Yes I planned to drive it back forth to my job at Burger King but my 87 year old grandmother might use it once a year to drive her Harley out to bike week at Sturgis!" Of course, in my defense, I am also apt to point out my own lack of intelligence as well. Gods knows that is no stretch. I have, in these very pages, opined that my intelligence might be lower than my shoe size. And I don't have big feet. I suppose on one level even going into the home staging business might cause anyone to question their IQ or their sanity.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else found it at least mildly ironic that the word "blog" is not found in the spell checker of the world's largest real estate blog-Active Rain.

"Hey Ho, Hey Ho." K. Vonnegut

New Service Launched Today

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:59:08 -0500

Today I am officially announcing a new service designed to help fill a void in the home staging business. Since there appears to be an extreme shortage of male home stagers and since some of the female home stagers have expressed a desire to occasionally partner with said male home stagers, I have decide to launch a new "virtual male home stager" service. Armed with a digital camera, a high speed broadband card, your trusty laptop, and a cell phone, you simply walk through the house taking photos and simultaneously downloading them to me as we speak on the phone. I will be offering philosophical advice,moral support, psychological insights, helpful suggestions, and home-staging coaching from a male perspective- all in real time. As an added bonus, I will also recite experts from James Joyce's Ulysses or, if you prefer, some poetry from Blake.

Think of the "team' approach to home staging and how beneficial this might be. Take your business to a whole new level. Please feel free to contact me for details and pricing.

James Frazier Professional Home Stager...."Real miracles..reasonably priced".

Paris group (and readers survey)

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 08:55:45 -0500

I posted this little poll after I started reflecting on the fact that although we only have four members in this group, we appear to haev many times that number of readers. So please take a moment to fill out the poll and helps us get an idea of our readership.

Meet Realtors Idea

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:30:39 -0500

How I got a bi weekly column on a local newspaper.

Since I am not eligible for this week's New Creativity Challenge I thought I would give my answer as a separate blog post. The challenge was to come up a creative way to meet and make appointments with Realtors. So here is one of my strategies.

Where I live we have a local newspaper that is absolutely fabulous. It is not owned by some big corporation so that they can say what they want and most often do. Their editorial content is excellent both for national and world news and they provide equally excellent local coverage of events and happenings. Anyway, I had long been an admirer of this publication. I have been most impressed with the difference between them and the national owned "large" newspaper that is their competitor.

However, I had noticed that their real estate section was lacking. I got the idea to propose a column written by me that would interview local realtors. One of my observations since getting into the home staging business was the appalling lack of understanding of real estate, realtors, and how homes are actually bought and sold. So I proposed that we do a column to give Realtor's a place to speak about some aspect of Real Estate in an effort to educate the public on real estate matters. This would accomplish three major things. One it would expand the newspapers real estate section, adding local market information and providing a forum to attract advertisers. Two, it would provide each realtor interviewed a place to present themselves as having some expertise and thus added public exposure. And then finally, the big one for me, is it would provide me with a way to meet and get to know Realtors by first providing them with something to help their business.

Well, it just so happened that at the same time I proposed this, they had been considering expanding their Real Estate section so they accepted. This has been a win win win situation. It requires some work but it is a very fast way to get to know the Realtors on a different level than just doing a presentation at their office.

If you would like to view the publication see the following links. The first one is an article that I did with Josh Ryan, a Realtor in my area. The second link is one of the articles I did to fill in when a Realtor did not come through for me. It is a simple article on home staging.

http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index.new.pl?cmd=viewstory&id=16256 Josh Ryan on CMA pricing

http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index.new.pl?cmd=viewstory&id=17725 James Frazier On home staging

I would love to hear your feedback.

Membership increases by 2% in one day

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:45:20 -0500

The Group about absolutely nothing continues to experience phenomenal growth. In just one day, the membership roster has grown by over 2%! Content in the group's post continue to attract some very fine folks. So be sure to invite your quality friends while there are still memberships available.

Much to my surprise

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:36:48 -0500

Yesterday, I did a rant about Top Producer not having a back button. I did on the off chance that somebody, anybody, from Top Producer would read the blog post and at least make a note that one person (although I imagine many have had this complaint) had complained about the issue.

Well dog my cats but some very nice gentlemen called me yesterday afternoon to acknowledge my post - see people do read this active rain stuff- he called the thank me for the input and to make me aware that Top Producer was addressing the issue. Unfortunately, it cannot be corrected in their current format. He did assure me that this feature will be available in the new version due to be released in the next few months. Kudos to Top Producer for taking the time to respond to me and for keeping up with this group!

PS- IS it just me or does it strike anyone else as strangely ironic hat the word "blog" in not in the spell checker dictionary for a large BLOG group like Active Rain?

Hey Top Producer- Are you listening?

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:34:10 -0500

On the off chance that someone from Top Producer should stumble on to this blog group, I would like to pose a question. What the &%$*# is up with no "back" button- this makes using your product annoying. So what about it? Add a back button please. Your web guys should be able to do this in about 2 hours max. It would vastly improve your product. Just thought you would like to know......

Tired of paying $1.00 or more for a directory assistance call on your cell phone.

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 22:28:40 -0500

Here is a trick that can save you money when you need to get a phone number quick but don't want to pay outrageous prices for directory assistance from your cell phone provider (mine is currently $1.49! If your phone is equipped to send text messages, then program in a new address with just this number 46645 (this is the SMS number for Google - it spells GOOGL on most phones) Hit this address and select "send SMS text" then just type in the person's name and city/state or just the zip code.

Need Directions? - You can also get directions by doing the same procedure as above but instead of the name and address- type in "from 123 Street, Whatever city to 456 street, Whatever city and in a couple of seconds Whoa La- Google sends back the message (or several messages since text messages are of limited length) and gives you step by step directions.

Need the weather? - Simply type in weather and the zip code and Google will send it back ASAP.

From James Frazier's little known and obscure facts department.....

A frog tale

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 21:45:29 -0500

I had a very interesting lunch today with a Realtor that I meet through one of my Realtor partners. We talked a lot about the real estate industry and when we were discussing the longevity of Realtors and the high drop out rate, he said something that triggered a memory of a story.

It seems that two frogs fell into a bucket of cream. The first frog, sensing that there was no way to climb out of the slippery liquid, after awhile, just gave up, and drowned. The second frog however, began to kick and kick and try everything possible to get out of the liquid. After much effort and much kicking, the cream began to turn to butter and eventually became solid thus allowing the frog to get a foothold and jump out.

The moral of this story is that persistence pays off and after you are in the bucket what else can you do? I think that this simple tale holds much wisdom especially for those of us who struggle to get any business, but certainly this business, off the ground.

What drew you to HRS?

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:42:09 -0500

What drew you to HRS? For me it was their website since I was looking for home staging business advice as much as I was looking for "training" in the art of home staging. I was very impressed with all that they offered in the way of features but it was the fact that their website looked the best (to me), worked the best (to me), and overall just seemed to fit for me. Then a personal phone call with Audra made my decision. I had called several of the principles of various training groups and I found her to be the most accessible, helpful and genuine person in the bunch. So I signed up and I have been very happy with that decision. I highly recommend HRS when anyone calls to inquire about my experience with them. ( And no this is not a paid commercial for them)

So what drew you to HRS?

Active Rain Group about Absolutely Nothing

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:30:13 -0500

Announcing yet another Active Rain group forming - Group about absolutely nothing.

OK, I am not kidding about this. I realized, after Craig's gentle reminder about staying on subject, that many of our posts are not directly related to home staging but since we are a community we seem to enjoy posting to this group (and others). So I thought I would create a different group for those of us who want to post items that are not directly related to staging but might be of interest to everyone here. The group is titled using an obscure Seinfeld reference (Maureen take notice). So come on over and post away. You are free to post on any subject as long as it follows the rules of Active Rain. And try to avoid excessive seriousness....

An example

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:17:59 -0500

Another reason I started this group is that I often found myself wanting to write about something, or more frequently wanting to pose questions that I did not think were sophisticated enough for certain groups. Take real estate, for example, many times I have wanted to post to the Realtors group but checked myself when I realized that the question might seem so obvious to a Realtor that my post would not be taken seriously of would seem to be an interruption. So post away.

Why so many?

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 22:20:23 -0500

Ok..I'll admit up front that everything I know about real estate could be put on the back of a match book cover and still have room for a good sized advertisement...but I have a question I am hoping some of you can shed some light upon. My question is, "Why are there so many Realtors" In my area there seems to be about one Realtor for every house sold ( I am kidding but it is a small ratio never-the -less. I would love to hear your opinion. Why are there so many Realtors?

Welcome to the Group About Absolutely Nothing

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 21:11:21 -0500

This group is about absolutely nothing. Anything can be posted here as long as it conforms to the rules of Active Rain....any post that does not do so will be removed. Additionally, any post that attempts to be too serious will also be removed.

"Lighten Up." Jitter Bug June Bug

Here's your sign

James Frazier (James Frazier Personal Development Coach) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 20:37:32 -0500

I swear you can't make this stuff up. Friday, I bought a motor home and called my insurance agency to get the thing insured. I was connected to someone who must have just started in the insurance business. I just had a gut feeling based on how she was treating me and the questions she was asking. I answered all the standard questions such as make and model ? " Winnebago" engine size? "454 cu in" length? "27 foot" "sleeps six" etc. Then she ask, Is this a recreational vehicle or will this be driven back and forth to work less than 10 miles? I started to say , "yes, I'll be driving it back and forth to my job at Burger King every day but my 87 year old grandmother will probably use it to tow her Harley out to Bike Week in Sturgis once a year."

Here is your sign........