Today is Valentines day and around the world people are sending messages and buying gifts for the special people in their lives.

There is no truth to the urban myth that Valentine’s Day was created by Hallmark (or any other card manufacturer) … but there is a good deal of common sense in that explanation.

So YES, do something special for the special people in your life … buy a card, buy a gift, have a romantic dinner or go on a special date.

However … remember that this is just one day in the year and it would be a good thing for your various relationships to show appreciation throughout the year.

Thoughts for the day:

1.  Create monthly reminders in your calendar right now … so that on the 14th of every month you are reminded to “do something for that special someone”.

2.  Create a list of the important people in your life … not just your spouse/partner and find a way to let them know they are important to you … you could set up a schedule for them too!

3.  Sign up for one of those online card companies … JibJab is a hilarious one … and start sending cards that make people laugh.

4.  Every month give an amount (small or large depending on your capability) to a charity, on behalf of one of your special people.

5.  Remember that everyone around you has “stuff to deal with in their lives” … and go a little easier on them in recognition of that fact!

The more you give the more you get … particularly with relationships!

Here are some ideas that don’t cost too much:

Send a handwritten card.

Send a letter … maybe include a photo!  (Who gets letters anymore … its now an event!)

Buy someone a coffee and take it to them.

Send a joke.

Send a picture by email … maybe an old one of you both together?

Remember their birthday, anniversary, special day of any kind.

Cook them dinner … or take them for a meal.  It could be a “chip wagon lunch” … your treat!

Find a special picture and have it printed on canvas … CanvasPop are a great Canadian company.

Buy them a book … a real one with paper pages and everything!  Write a note in the front!

Do anything YOU would appreciate if someone else was doing it for you!

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!
Gain a competitive edge!  Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!
Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?
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A light hearted post because it is the middle of Winter, the economy continues to limp along and there is enough “serious stuff” going on in the world.

Each year I give up alcohol for four weeks, in fact two years ago I gave it up for longer, as preparation for a charity boxing match I volunteered for … The Fight for the Cure!  However the “norm” is four weeks without alcohol, and it usually starts around the beginning of the year, lasting four weeks … that I have called Kevuary for the last five years (my own ficticious month).

There are a few reasons why I do this:

• It is a good way to make sure alcohol is a “nice to have” rather than a “must have”.
• It helps with my annual post holiday season weight loss.
• It is a demonstration that I still have some willpower!

Today is the last day of Kevuary!  Tomorrow I can enjoy a glass of wine, maybe even a scotch!
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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!
Gain a competitive edge!  Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!
Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?
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As mentioned in earlier blog entries I believe this time of year should be a lot more GIVING than RECEIVING!

This is Eagle’s Holiday Card for 2012 …

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Gain a competitive edge!  Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!
Find Canada’s top hot jobs, updated in real-time!  Visit Eagle’s Job Centre!
Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?
________________________________________________________________

This is a great time of year to be thankful for all the good things in our life.  It doesn’t matter what religion you are, if you live here in Canada most people tend to get a little more time off, 2012 is coming to an end and we live in one of the best countries in the world.

Gratitude has a way of bringing us back down to earth, and that in itself is a good exercise.  It doesn’t matter who you are, the good things in your life are not there just because of you.  So be grateful!

I started my business 16 years ago and it has by all measures been a pretty successful run.  I must be amazing!   Whoaaaaa!!!!!   Actually I was in the right place at the right time, I have partners that have been on this ride with me for 16 years, I have had great people working here over those 16 years; I live in a country that allows entrepreneurship to thrive; we could not be successful without the clients, suppliers and professionals that we work with.   So … yes I am grateful, for the opportunity, for the support, for the people, for this country!

I am 57 years old and still in good shape.  I have had an interesting and varied life … different careers, living in different countries, with many and varied experiences.  I could not have enjoyed any of this without my health, without the opportunities afforded to those living in the “first world” cultures.  So … yes I am grateful, for all of those things!

I could go on about the million and one things in my life for which I am grateful … the ability to be able to play soccer for more than 50 years, the fast toys in my life, the friends, the family, the places I have lived!   I AM grateful for all of it.

What is my message?

1.  Find the things in your life to be thankful for.

2.  Don’t EVER think YOU did it alone … it doesn’t matter if you are Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, The Queen of England or Wayne Rooney!   We are all a product of many inputs, our place of birth, our families, our heritage, the accidents that did not happen to us, the disease that did not affect us … so ALWAYS be thankful!

3.  When you have that list of things to be thankful for, keep it handy.  The next time you feel sorry for yourself or just a little blue, pull it out and remind yourself of just how lucky you are!

4.  None of this takes away from one of my favorite sayings … The harder I work, the luckier I am!

5.  Go build on your luck … and be thankful that you can!

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!
Gain a competitive edge!  Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!
Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?
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So one of my favorite actors, Clint Eastwood, caused a furore with at the Republican convention with his “conversation with a chair”.  In the chair sat an imaginary Barack Obama, whom Clint interviewed on behalf of the Republican party … and for many, the ploy failed to impress and the term Eastwooding was born!  Reputedly Barack Obama tweeted later that, “this chair is taken”.

It was an attempt at getting a message across that did not resonate so well with the audience … but don’t write off Eastwooding just yet.

Early in my computing career I was a programmer at at bank, and coded using IBM assembler.  One of the “tricks of the trade” that we used to “debug” code was remarkably similar to Eastwooding.  We would “walk through” the code line by line explaining to a partner, what it was doing.  It quickly became clear that 99 times out of 100 the programmer would recognise his own errors by going through that process, so in effect the partner was not REALLY needed!  So … we developed a process for “walk throughs” with an “imaginary partner” … and it was remarkably effective!

So, maybe Eastwooding is not such a great way to get a political message across, but it could be a great way to “debug code”, or perhaps “walk through” a business plan, or prepare for a speech, or verify the content of a tough email.  Just take Obama’s chair and talk to it about your problem!

Thanks Clint, I think you “made my day”!

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Gain a competitive edge!  Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!
Find Canada’s top hot jobs, updated in real-time!  Visit Eagle’s Job Centre!
Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?
________________________________________________________________

I am a forward thinking kind of person.  I like to think I learn my lessons in life, but I don’t look backwards too often.

There are way too many issues caused because of “history”.  You only have to look at territorial disputes between countries … yes country A held that territory before country B, but if you go back further you often find country C, D, E etc all held it at various points in time. 

Maybe if Greece were to reclaim all the territory they held at the height of their power they might not have any economic problems! (Tongue in cheek comment … but you get my point).  Same goes for the Romans, or maybe even the British Empire!

However here we are in 2012 and if everyone accepted today’s realities and moved forward there would be far fewer issues in the world.

There are however some positive reasons to revisit history … and they centre around happy memories.

Last night I went to the theatre to watch Backbeat which is about the formative years of “The Beatles”.  Set in the early sixties when I was a very young boy, the Liverpool (Scouse) accents made me smile … because I grew up in Liverpool.  Some of the expressions were priceless, bringing back memories of my youth. 

It was a nice evening out!

So … like most things in life, we can have a positive OR negative view of history, and it is entirely within our control.

As I get older I realise that the positive memories are something to cherish, the not so positive (or even painful) memories I ignore.

Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “History is written by the victors”.  A quote that suggests you might like the history, or not … and that its validity might well be questionable!

I say, “Today is more important than history.  Live your life looking forwards”.

________________________________________________________________
Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Gain a competitive edge!  Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!
Find Canada’s top hot jobs, updated in real-time!  Visit Eagle’s Job Centre!
Have you tried Eagle’s (very cost effective) VirtualRecruiter service?
________________________________________________________________

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!

Gain a competitive edge!  Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!
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I thought I would try something a little different with today’s blog … and would like to give credit to the website Parablesite.com for this story.

A carpenter was having a tough day. It started with a flat tire that cost him an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in stoney silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. After opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward, he walked me to my car. We passed the tree, and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier. “Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning, I pick them up again.” “Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”

Growing up I was educated in Catholic schools and often they used parables to make a point …so they are certainly not a new invention, and perhaps not even trendy.  For some people they may even seem a little “hokey”.

The interesting thing about how people learn is that we are all a little different and different styles of learning will work for different people.  If the visualisation of a parable can help to drive home a point then it seems like it could be a good tool!

This parable has a number of messages … all of which you have heard before:

1.  The extent of your “problems” is largely governed by your attitude.  (Its mostly in your head)!

2.  You can let problems overwhelm you or you can actively “put them in their place”.

3.  It is possible to have a great home life, even if things at work are not going so well … and vice-versa.  When you let one overwhelm the other then you are really just making it all worse.

4.  Very often what seems like a big problem doesn’t seem nearly so bad later.

5.  Remember what is most important to you and protect that … .you really don’t want your family to remember you as ”the grouch”.

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Gain a competitive edge! Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!

Find Canada’s top hot jobs, updated in real-time! Visit Eagle’s Job Centre!

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I take pleasure from many things in life … I look for the good, I focus on the positive and I work hard to eliminate or at least negate the negatives.  So, having a built in reason to celebrate makes it VERY easy!!!

Here in North America we are about to celebrate some national holidays … and like many such celebrations they have evolved over the years, people have developed their own traditions and perhaps the original intents are not as important for some.

I’m not so sure it matters … if the essence of a Canada Day celebration for you is the celebration of Canada’s independence OR just a great opportunity to party its all OK.

In Canada we will be celebrating our independence (or just celebrating) on July 1st.  South of the border the US will be celebrating their independence on July 4th.  Its a good week for celebrating!!

To all my Canadian friends … Happy Canada Day.

To my friends in the states … wait another couple of days (or zip up to Canada for the weekend) and then you too can party like Canadians!!!

Find the good things to celebrate in your life … and when people make it easy for you, then make sure you take advantage.  Its time to be with friends and family, its a time to maybe drink and eat a little more than you should, its a time to laugh and tell stories, its a time to watch some fireworks … and maybe a time to reflect a little on those who have helped build these countries!

Let’s party!!!!

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Gain a competitive edge! Join Eagle’s Executive Consulting Network!

Find Canada’s top hot jobs, updated in real-time! Visit Eagle’s Job Centre!

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In March last year I took part in a white collar boxing event to raise funds in the fight against cancer … it is known as the Fight for the Cure and is run in Ottawa.   As a participant I actually gave blood, in addition to time and money for this cause … yet it was the organisers who really made this event happen.  In Ottawa the main organiser was Matt Whitteker, a very impressive twenty-something entrepreneur … although there were plenty of people involved.  In March of this year that same event saw MP Justin Trudeau fight Senator Patrick Brazeau, raising even more money for this great cause!

Helping out in my corner a little more than a year ago was a young lady from Toronto, Jennifer Huggins who owns and operates the Kingsway Boxing Club.  She was so impressed with the event that she saw it as a great way to give to her community … and on June 9th the First Annual Fight to End Cancer will take place at the Woodbine Race Track in Toronto.

This young entrepreneur has devoted hundreds of hours to make this happen!

She has donated her time, her gym, her contacts and equipment to ensure that there are some very interesting fights to entertain the crowd.

She engineered a partnership with the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.

She has gathered sponsors, volunteers and participants to create a BIG event!!!

She did this to GIVE back!!!

We all benefit when people like Jennifer give … we all benefit even more if we ALL give!

So be like Jennifer just a little … give a little of yourself, give some money, give some time!   

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Kevin Dee is CEO of Eagle (a Professional Staffing Company)
Want to know where Canada’s hot jobs are?   Visit the Eagle Job Centre!
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