Thursday, December 24, 2009

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Click to play this Smilebox slideshow: Christmas In Florida
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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

New Arrival Sophia Grace Tschudin


A new arrival in the Cajana Family. Congratulations!!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Saturday, March 21, 2009

 

 

 

 
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

UPK

UPK is an Oracle Solution that provides value throughout the sofware lifecycle. UPK can streamline the training documentation for an organization as it has at the NFC. All of the Cajana Team has been instrumental in getting EmpowHR 9 training up and running on the NFC website. It is the result of using UPK as an instructional development tool which in the case of the NFC has resulted in training materials, job aides and system transaction-business process information.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Ayn Rynd Atlas Shrugged

The following quotes are from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. This book has resurfaced and is being read more than ever. I read the book while in college working in the area of Philosophy. The quotes that follow depict values that were prevalent the many years ago when I was in college and again are prevalent now as we look at the economic and political situation in our country.

“I work for nothing but my own profit—which I make by selling a product they need to men who are willing and able to buy it. . . . we deal as equals by mutual consent to mutual advantage and I am proud of every penny I have earned in this manner.”

“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.” Productive achievement is a value that is critical to a philosophy of success. Producing a product that is needed and sold to another is a fundamental to value of self. To sit idly by and collect, live on and bask inthe achievements of others is of no value.

“Whoever you are, you who are hearing me now, I am speaking to whatever living remnant is left uncorrupted within you, to the remnant of the human, to your mind, and I say: There is a morality of reason, a morality proper to man, and Man’s Life is its standard of value.”



There was a gasp, not of indignation, but of astonishment, in the crowd behind him and silence from the judges he faced. He went on calmly:

"I am rich and I am proud of every penny I own. I made my money by my own effort, in free exchange and through the voluntary consent of of those who employed me when I started, the voluntary consent of those who work for me now, the voluntary consent of those who buy my product. I shall answer all the questions you are afraid to ask me openly. Do I wish to pay my workers more than their services are worth to me? I do not. Do I wish to sell my product for less than my customers are willing to pay me? I do not. Do I wish to sell it at a loss or give it away? I do not. If this is evil, do whatever you please about me, according to whatever standards you hold.

Ayn Rand advocated a system of capitalism, by which she meant “a full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated laissez-faire capitalism—with a separation of state and economics in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of church and state.”

“I have held the same philosophy as I hold now, for as far back as I can remember. I have learned a great deal through the years and expanded my knowledge of details, of specific issues, of definitions, of applications and I intend to continue expanding it—but I have never had to change any of my fundamentals. My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."

“I trust that no one will tell me that men such as as I write about don’t exist. That this book has been written—and published—is my proof that they do.”

Ayn Rand was both a novelist and a philosopher. She developed a full philosophical system, which she named Objectivism and it had a big impact on those of my generation who read it.

“Man has been called a rational animal, but rationality is a matter of choice—and the alternative his nature offers him is: rational being or suicidal animal. Man has to be man—by choice; he has to hold his life as a value—by choice; he has to learn to sustain it—by choice; he has to discover the values it requires and practice his virtues—by choice." Do you take responsibility for your choices?

“A code of values accepted by choice is a code of morality.

“Whoever you are, you who are hearing me now, I am speaking to whatever living remnant is left uncorrupted within you, to the remnant of the human, to your mind, and I say: There is a morality of reason, a morality proper to man, and Man’s Life is its standard of value."

“All that which is proper to the life of a rational being is the good; all that which destroys it is the evil."

“Man’s life, as required by his nature, is not the life of a mindless brute, of a looting thug or a mooching mystic, but the life of a thinking being—not life by means of force or fraud, but life by means of achievement—not survival at any price, since there’s only one price that pays for man’s survival: reason."

Ayn Rand wrote “I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism; and I am not primarily an advocate of egoism, but of reason.”

—Ayn Rand

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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Trust

Another Gitomer book for the Airplane reads.

In 1998 Jeffrey Gitomer took a leadership position and wrote a book about loyalty when the rest of the world was stuck on satisfaction. More than 500,000 world wide copies later, turns out he was ahead of the curve, and right on the money.

Ten years later he is again making a statement. The next decade will be defined by TRUST.

TRUST
in countries, governments, corporations, and individuals.
TRUST in products, services, claims, speeches, commercials, and ads.
TRUST in clergy, sports heroes, teachers, firemen, and police.
TRUST in healthcare, economies, newspapers, books, and the internet.
TRUST in families and friends.

This breakthrough book defines trust, relates trust to truth, tells how to gain trust, how trust is lost, shows examples of trusted relationships, and how to rebuild trust. And for salespeople this book shows how to build loyal relationships and become a trusted advisor – written in Jeffrey's straight-forward style you have come to know – and yes, even trust.

Trust is the basis for all relationships.
This book will help you:

Tell the truth. This is the number one element of trust AND relationships.

Do what you say you will do. This is a test for being trustworthy and reliable.

Communicate in a timely manner. This shows you are responsible, on top of it, and that you care.

Bring value beyond your product or service. What you do to help others be more successful will be a true reflection of your character.

Be on time. Being on time shows you respect the other person’s time.

Be friendly.
Smiling people are the gateway to open communication.

Be sincere. This can only come from belief in what you do, loving what you do, and caring for others.

Show and say genuine thanks. Be grateful for the opportunity to be of service.

Be consistent. I believe this element of trust is the most difficult to master because it combines all the other elements.

Give trust.
You become trustworthy by giving trust to others.
It is important to demonstrate integrity and deal directly with those you work with to ensure the message conveyed is accurate. Trust is difficult when messages received in organizations are filtered through several layers of bureacracy. The value of small teams and small companies lies in integrity and trust that is demonstrated in all communication. This book by Gitomer is well worth reading and a great reminder of what succeeds in relationships, organizations and communication.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Goals What are Yours?



A new year always brings up the concept of goals and with two months into the year, you might want to ask yourself if you are achieving the goals you set out for yourself in 2009. Or, are you one of the individual's who doesn't feel goals are necessary? I always think of Alice in Wonderland when she comes to the fork in the road and the Cheshire Cat asks where she is going. Her reply is I don't know and the cat states "If you don't know where you are going, it doesn't matter which road you take". Do you know where you are going?

Let's discuss your goals. Are they specific and can they be measured and at the same time allow for flexibility? Do you challenge yourself and provide some excitement in your home and work life? Do your goals include giving something back to your community or society? Are the goals well balanced, realistic and based on your personal values?

Take some time today to think about your goals and whether or not you are achieving them. Also how do your goals relate to what Cajana is trying to achieve as a business? Do your goals and accomplishments demonstrate integrity, honesty, enthusiasm, creativity and a passion for what you are doing personally and professionally? Or are you not sure which road to take?

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

New Orleans Team


It has been cold in New Orleans so we have been walking across the stree to Lucy's to have 2$ tacos and edamame. Bob enjoyed their split pea soup and fish tacos. He keeps wanting to go back every night for dinner and I couldn't quite understand why until I met Amanda the Waitress. You can see from the picture that the reason for Lucy's for dinner for Bob is Amanda.


Bob has also been reading when he isn't at Lucy's. He completed a book called The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes. I keep waiting for a book report but he seems a bit too busy to give us a re-cap. He did mention he really enjoyed the book and it gave him some insight into the great depression. I was amazed because I have never seen Bob depressed!!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Gitomer Books

If you haven't read any of the Gitomer books, go out today and buy one or go to the Amazon link and buy one. The books are great and motivational. I especially like the little book of YES. This is a great airplane book as you can read it usually in one long flight or two short ones. It is the kind of book to read over and over until you get the idea of YES. Interested in more about Gitomer go to: Http://www.gitomer.com.
Start each day with something positive to set the stage for the whole day. This is something recommended. If you are in any of the areas where he is doing seminars, I recommend attending as they are inexpensive and packed with good information.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

John Chow Contest

John Chow Contest. I thought some of you might be interested in the John Chow contest where you have an opportunity to win the OIOPublisher software. Let me know if you enter...

OIO Publisher Direct Give Away
written by John Chow on January 5th, 2009
Make $5,000 per month from home!

OIOPublisher is the best solution for bloggers trying to sell direct advertising. Before this awesome piece of software came along, I would always recommend new bloggers use 3rd party ad networks instead of selling ads directly because you need to concentrate on producing content when you’re starting out.

What OIOPublisher automates the ad buying process so you can concentrate on blogging instead of selling. By using OIOPublisher, advertisers can order, pay for and upload their ads directly to your blog. The only thing you have to do is approve the ad. If you get a sale, then great! If not, then OIOPublisher will run ads from the ad networks or your own house ads until you do. Some of the other features include:

* Possible to integrate the ad platform with any website that uses PHP
* Purchase / account pages are now templated, editable within the admin area
* Text links are now controlled via zones (like banner ads)
* Works with PayPal and PayPal Subscription
* Full javascript ad display support
* Entrecard Payment option integrated

The software will work on any website that use PHP. Wordpress users get an easy to install plugin. OIOPublisher Direct sells for $47 and is worth every penny. However, I have two copies to give away.

How To Enter

To enter for a chance to win one of two copies of OIOPublisher Direct, simply reply to this post. It doesn’t get easier than that! You only need to reply once. Replying multiple times won’t get you more entries. However, if you blog about this contest and link to this post, I’ll give you five more entries. I give you three more entries if you send the following tweet to your followers.

Win a copy of OIOPublisher Direct from @JohnChowDotCom. It automates ad sales for your blog. Enter here! http://xr.com/lnf

The contest deadline is Friday, January 30. The winners will be drawn on Saturday, January 31 at Dot Com Pho. Good luck and enter now!

Download OIOPublisher Direct