I'm Feeling A Little Crazy Today

What will be the legacy of me?? You ever wonder that? Okay, your mental question to yourself was probably in more proper english, but really...ever wonder what you'll leave behind? Once again my mother has casually reached into my mind and turned on a light.

She reminds me that although many of us feel like today is never going to end, and maybe take our own lives for granted. She reminds me that we will get old and eventually we will all pass on.

I'm watching replays of the Chicago Bulls run to glory in the 95/96 NBA season, and seeing Michael Jordan as he used to rise above the rim and conquer the basket over and over no matter what. Now he is older and his days above the rim have passed him by, but the legacy he leaves behind is immortal.

The thing is that time will pass, and opportunities for you to find greatness in yourself will also come and go. I'm not always going to be young and full of energy to go out and get things done, make things happen. My ninja maneuvers are not always going to be a strong as they are now. My ability to woo any woman will weaken in time... And don't let yourself get too tangled up relying on the time you still have either, because no matter your age, wealth, health, or superpowers (and I have many), tomorrow is promised to none of us.

Take hold of your life, your goals, your dreams, as you are the one who gets to decide how you are remembered. You are the one who gets to decide what you leave behind. And I am the one who will flirt with the idea of world peace, while hocking my "Peace Dove" t-shirts.

E-Mail Subscriptions

If you signed up for the e-mail subscription and did not recieve one this morning don't worry - I'm working on it. I'll let you know when this service is up and running. You may have to sign up again, I know, I know, it's annoying. But sometimes you have to do what you have to do to get A Daily Dose of the Gerald.

-The Gerald's Blog Master.

I Thought I Knew Better Than Everyone...Until My Mom Told Me I Didn't

Waddup, waddup, hope everybody was able to enjoy the weekend and the nice weather we were blessed with. It doesn't really happen too often 'round these D.C. Metro parts, so take advantage of it when it happens.

So, my mother called to say hello yesterday after a two week long work trip to Hawaii (tough life, huh?), we usually have pretty insightful conversations. She brought up my morning emails and she told me how she enjoys them, but made note of an important lesson. I tend to be a rather stubborn person, anybody who knows me will agree. I also seem to enjoy expressing my stubborn opinions often and to as many people as possible. My morning emails are a prime example of this, as I express my thoughts and opinions to a rather wide audience daily.

She mentioned that I should not expect everyone to agree with my views, as she does not always agree with them, and that I should be willing to see and understand other opinions and points of view. Well, good news...I do.

Some of my opinions may just be rants, some may be educated guesses, some of them I've learned through experience, some through debate, and some just from listening to other people converse. I will be stubborn once I've formed my own opinions through all of these different avenues of knowledge and wisdom, well at least until somebody proves me wrong, but I definitely do not expect people to just take whatever I say to be gold either. What I do expect is that my morning insight, coupled with jokes here and there, will spark thought. Too often I think we find ourselves stressing about stupid crap, arguing over opinions on religion, or politics, "did Jesus really exist?" or "are we ready for a black president?". These are the kinds of topics that litter our time and our thoughts. What we should be more concerned with are the things that we can do to beter our quality of life.

It doesn't really matter if Jesus really was who the bible says he was, it doesn't really matter what color or sex our president is either. It's the messages in the bible that are important, it's how we guide our president with our voices and our efforts that is important. Who cares what God's real name is? If you want to call him Allah, then by all means, praise to Allah! If you like the ring of God better, then pray to God! If you're into spaceships and Scientology, then try not to publicize it like Tom Cruise has done...

Everybody is always going to have their own opinions, based on events in their lives that formed them. Don't discount anybody's views just because they're different than your own, instead try to understand where they are coming from, maybe you'll learn something new.

On that note I'm gonna hit the sack. Hopefully I'll have a continuation dream from last night where I took over the world and subjected everybody to my views and opinions...I had a little mustache, and rows and rows of ninja warriors marching in unison behind me as I rode atop my white liger! It was awesome...

Excuses, Excuses

Hello everybody. Sorry I was not able to grace you with any rants, insight, or humor yesterday. I had to be at work early, and needed to be on point, as I had a long day ahead of me.

Excuses aside, I did miss sharing my ridiculous thoughts with you and hearing what you think about them, I know, I know, what I really missed was feeding my ego... Speaking of excuses, I have been thinking about the word recently. It has come up here and there with the "don't gimme excuses" type talk.

First of all, I was always brought up not to have excuses, but just to figure out a way and always get it done. This was drilled into my head over and over as I grew from childhood into my teenage years, and then into the statue-like body, god like face, and genius mind you experience today as The Gerald... That was another one of my jokes that some of you will still take seriously.

I digress...excuses used to mean any reason that something could not or would not get done. No matter the task or the circumstances surrounding a task, it was always, "no excuses, just get it done", or "why didn't you do what I asked, and no excuses". Now, after hearing that I would always think, "so what the hell am I supposed to do now? I'm not allowed to say what the reason is..." Wrong. You are allowed to say, but don't ever just settle with not being able to get something done, no matter the reason.

For instance, there are a couple of people that I probably need to open up to more and explain how I really feel about certain things, and I haven't yet. My excuses may sound like this, "I haven't had time lately", or, "it hasen't been the right time", or, "I'm waiting for her to ask me what's on my mind". The list goes on... Now, my actual reasons might be that I'm scared of the consequences, or maybe I'm just lacking confidence.

You see, excuses are stretched and deranged explanations for why you either didn't do something or are not going to do because you don't want to. Reasons, on the other hand, are just challenges that you need to overcome to get what you need or want. Imagine not getting the girl (or guy) that might be the one for you just because you were scared. Imagine not becoming the billionaire music mogul because you thought it was impossible and didn't want to get off your ass and try. Imagine Jerry never hanging out with you because you just couldn't bring yourself to fork over the $1500 (cash) membership fee to be in the "Cool Club". It's really not that hard, just sit down one day and figure out what it is that you need or want to make you genuinely happy. Next, figure out what realistic steps you can take to get there.

Eventually you'll see that anything is possible, just doesn't always seem that way. (I say that and yet I still have a problem following it. Not so perfect after all, are we Jerry?) Have a good day today, everybody, and make someone smile today, it'll make you feel pretty good.

Jerry

Maureen Is Awesome

Morning all. Today, let's talk about Maureen's shoes. Maureen is a good friend of mine, and by good friend I mean just about the best kind of friend you can have, and she's got shoes...lots of shoes. Some are attractive, some are okay, and some are even disturbing (who wears shoes covered in feathers??). Well the thing I admire is that no matter what other people (including me) think about her shoes, she rocks them with confidence and pride. This is a very important trait to have or to learn. Ultimately, the only one you need to make sure is happy is you. If it makes you happy to wear it, then rock it like you mean it. No matter what reactions you may get from others, no matter who expresses their disagreement in the fashionability of said shoes, just rock 'em. The same goes for anything, if it is what you want, if it is how you want to represent yourself, if it is what makes you happy, then be proud of it. Life is short, live it the way you want to remember it.

I Might Be The Smartest Man Alive

Good afternoon everybody. I'm off today, so I took the liberty of sleeping into the early afternoon, niiiiiiiiiiiice. So I learned a good lesson on Saturday. I had to work, and those of us who work together on Saturdays usually bring in breakfast items to cook and start the day off right. We had bacon, eggs, blueberry waffles, pillsbury grands, mmmmmmmmmmmmm! So they asked me to cook the eggs, even though I definitely mentioned that I don't cook. Then they left me alone in the kitchen...biiiiiiig mistake my friends.

I couldn't find a pan to cook the eggs in, so I went in to MacGyver mode and pulled out one of the round glass cookware dishes that you cook pies in the oven with. Now, one might think that if it can go in the oven, it can go on the stove...not the case at all. About 2 minutes into scrambling eggs, the dish exploded with a loud "POP" and glass shot everywhere!

Amazingly, not one piece of glass hit me, though I was standing right in front of it when it happened. This is when I first learned of my super powers. I just knew there had to be something special about me, and now I know that projectiles flying through the air at lethal speeds choose oh so wisely to take a path that goes around The Gerald, rather than through him.

Okay, back to reality, the real lesson I learned is not to let The Gerald be in the kitchen alone. What I needed was a teammate to help guide me through the journey that was the scrambling of eggs. Everything works better with teamwork, work projects, video games, presentations, brainstorming ideas, sports, raising money to send Jerry to Africa for a 12 day safari, leasing apartments, selling cars (especially Volkswagens from Greenway VW in Alexandria), partying, the list goes on and on. We sometimes lose sight of the fact that a team will do things better together than one person working alone or even working against everyone around them.

Friendly competition is great, but when it becomes cutthroat and starts to create animosity and bad attitudes toward eachother, only bad can come from it. Too often leaders try to use negative reinforcement to motivate people, it may work temporarily, but definitely not in the long run. It is also not good for team morale, as tempers may start to flare in the workplace.

I suggest positive motivation, and the promotion of teamwork, especially in the workplace. Have the tea come together and figure out strategy together, teach them to play off of each other towards a common goal and watch how beautifully they can grow together almost into a well-oiled machine once chemistry is established. Offer the team some sort of reward if they reach the goals set for them. Something different, like a bbq or a teambuilding event (paintball, theme park, fishing trip, night out on the town), these activities will only build on the team chemistry and ultimately improve on the potential of the team. And finally, just remember, "Teamwork Makes Dreams Work", may be corny but it's completely true. Have a good day everybody.The Gerald

It's Friday.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIttttttttttttttttt's Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy!! Networking, networking, networking, oh how important networking is. I have been blessed with the ability to comfortably communicate with just about anyone. It hasn't been until just the last couple of years that I've started to realize that maybe I have a gift. In growing into my newly discovered ability, I have begun to learn how much more resourceful, productive, and valuable one can be with a good network. When presented with a situation in which you are surrounded by people you don't already know, you should take advantage of the opportunity to meet as many people as you can, without seeming like a weirdo. Don't bounce around the metro station wide-eyed and excited about meeting everybody, talking about, "Who are you, and what do you do?" It might not turn out so well... Just introduce yourself to new people in somewhat of a casual way, always with a smile on your face, not a joker smile, just a smile. Be genuine, let people know through your body language and tone of your voice that you are being real, and not just being a smart$$.

Once you've begun to create new relationships and build your network, don't be afraid to take advantage of your new resources. Let people know also that if ever they need anything, you'll be more than happy to help out any way you can. One thing you may also start to find is that the more people that know you and what you do, the more potential you have to do some more business. You never know where business could come from, all you can do is advertise yourself as much as possible, in a classy way, and wait to see how the opportunities will arise.

Now, in the spirit of networking, and proving that it can always help to build a new network, I'd like to ask my new network for some creative ideas. I know a lot of you personally, and some I don't. I know that A Daily Dose of The Gerald sometimes gets forwarded to others; friends, family, etc. I work at an apartment community in Annandale, Virginia called The Parliaments. We have the best product in the area and I am completely confident with that. Now, we have had too many vacant apartments over the course of the last few months, not any more than our neighboring communities, but that is no excuse. It may be true that the vacancy in the area is high, but that doesn't mean that there's not business to be had, just means we have to come up with new ways to attack the beast. If you work for a competing property management institutes, please refrain from sharing secret company tactics, as you don't need to risk having issues at work because of it, but otherwise I would really appreciate a fresh perspective on ways to market our community more effectively. I appreciate your time, and look forward to hearing from you. Have a good weekend everybody.

Taking Your Life For Granted, Not My Own, Obviously.

Good morning everybody, it's time to wake up and get busy. I'd like to start with an apology to my little sister, Shannon. It seems I have embarrassed her with yesterday's email. She's always wanted to be famous, I guess just not because of her habit of blaming the dog for her unpleasantries... So please erase yesterday's post from your memory. Didn't work, yeah I didn't think it would, but I tried.

So, lately I have been thinking about life and it's delicateness. Too much I think the majority of us take life for granted, as if we're going to live forever and anything that we're too lazy to do today, we'll just do tomorrow. Well, tomorrow is never guaranteed, though we'd like to think so and often live as if it is. How many of you have thought, "man, if I could go back to high school knowing what I know now, I would do a whole lot of things differently..."? Well, that's because we know now that we took those years for granted. You have a choice to live life the way you want to live it, but realize that when you get to the end of the road, whether you're expecting it or not, that you'll look back on your life and the things you've accomplished, the relationships you've built, and the things you wish you'd done differently, but you won't be able to go back and change anything. Don't do that to yourself, you don't deserve that, nobody does.

Do you really want to look back and think, "man, I can't believe I put myself through all of that torture staying in that abusive relationship because I thought it was better for the kids", or, "I wish I had confessed my love for her and asked her to marry me", or even, "why didn't I talk David Hillman into investing in my jazz club idea". (I know, that was cheap, but I'd regret not having taken the opportunity to throw that out there in the hopes that he would somehow, some day read this and be inspired).

First of all, nobody should put themselves through an abusive relationship, especially for the kids. How will your kids grow up respecting you or themselves knowing that you don't respect yourself? Stand up for yourself and for your kids, because even though you might think you're sheltering them from your unhappiness, you're not. You're only teaching them not to stand up for themselves and you will regret it later.

Secondly, I know there have been someone in some of your lives that you were completely in love with, but for fear of rejection you kept it to yourself, only to doom yourself to a life of mediocrity and someone that you struggle to be with day in and day out. My best friend, Bo showed me that no matter the circumstances, go for the one you know is right for you. He went right after the one that he knew would make him happy, even though she probably could have had anybody and she tried to pass him off in the beginning to a friend. He was persistent, and I think him and his wife will appreciate his determination for the rest of their lives. Okay, okay, wrapping it up...

Two last things, first I'd like you to check out this video when you have a chance on your free time (please don't try to watch it at work. I don't wanna get fired because I had a bunch of people spend an hour of their workday watching a video). It's the final lecture by a 47 year old college professor named Randy Pausch who is dying of cancer, and it is definitely eye opening. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HqdnjgkExY) And lastly I'd like to leave you with this quote I read a couple of years ago that has kind of stuck with me.

"Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth."
- Mark Twain

It seems like a good outlook to have, why not? Have a good day everybody.

Stop Blaming The Dog

Ever have anyone pass gas around you and try to pass the blame to the dog? Well, I had that situation happen recently and I don't want to name names, but my sister, Shannon did it and it was horrible! When I confronted her about it, she just kept saying, "It was the LeBleurrrrrrrrr!". I know many of you are probably lost now, but the situation brings up a rather important matter. In the office arena, no matter what the business is, you will find staffs put together as teams. These teams are meant to compliment each other and work together towards the same ultimate goal, each team member playing their part to ensure we do reach that goal.

Well, mistakes do happen and challenges will arise at times, but too often instead of problem-solving being the first reaction, it's finger-pointing and blame-placing that tends to happen before anything else. People seem to be so concerned with making sure others don't think it was their fault, that they sometimes lose sight of the fact that there still is a challenge to deal with. I would suggest that in the future, when an issue comes up, instead of throwing somebody under the bus and thinking the problem is just going to go away, let's first figure out a way to correct the problem and move forward.

Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes (though I my mistakes are very minimal and I'm as close to perfect as it gets...), some mistakes are just more noticeable. So the next time a file gets lost, or your occupancy drops below 97%, or your dodgeball team loses every game in the season, let's try to figure out a solution, and not add to the problem by trying to blame somebody all the time. If you have trouble finding solutions, just ask Jerry, he seems to know everything...

Two Fer Revisted

Morning, peoples! I'm sure most of you are still waking up at your desks, as I currently am, trying to find motivation to be productive today. Well, it is Two Fer Tuesday, so make sure to set those two goals for yourself and try your best to see them through by day's end. Try not to pile on too much for yourself, as it can have the same effect as when you try to put too many sheets of paper through the shredder...it shuts down and then you have a hell of a time un-jamming it. Sometimes it gets so bad you just have to leave it and hope the opportunity to blame someone else comes up.

My two goals for the day will be to be more productive than I was yesterday (I was pretty busy yesterday, time flew by and I didn't get to work on some of the things I need to work on), and to spend some laid back quality time with a good friend. Just chillin with good friends or family after a long and productive day can be very therapeutic. Good friends appreciate you for who you are. Some of you have significant others that you will go home to, others have close friends too hang out with, make sure you let them know that you appreciate them occasionally. Something so simple can mean a lot, especially for old people like me...

Chipotle

Okay, so I was a little upset this morning, just needed to vent. Now, I was still a little grumpy until I was presented with a very intriguing question, "Jerry, where did you get Chipotle from?" What a strange question, I'm eating from a bag that says "Chipotle", she knows I'm eating food from Chipotle, and yet she asks the most mind-blowing question of the day! I didn't even know how to answer the question, I was shocked! I told her it's right around the corner from the factory where they make white meat chickens and dark meat chickens. Have a good evening everybody, and remember, if it looks like Chipotle, it smells like Chipotle, and the bag says Chipotle, it probably came from Chipotle.

Integrity People, Integrity

Happy Monday! I had a nice weekend, full of excitement, stress, anger, newfound motivation, humor, and laziness. It was a roller coaster of emotion and activity! Through the ups and downs, twists and turns, I was reminded of a couple of pretty important lessons in life, well...in my life anyway. We'll start with integrity, it is defined as:

1 : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values

2 : an unimpaired condition

3 : the quality or state of being complete or undivided

Well, you will find that many people in this world do not find the importance in such an important quality as integrity, and instead choose to display immaturity, dishonesty, greed, deceit, and recreant behavior. It is important to learn this virtue of integrity early on in life, as it becomes vital when flirting with success and power especially. Some who find power or success will then use it to poke at the people who may not have supported them in the past. These people are cowards who hide behind their power.

A person with integrity will display the same quality when they're poor and powerless or when they're rich and powerful. You see integrity in leaders everyday, leaders that you respect. Unfortunately you also see the lack of integrity in others everyday, especially in those who have a false sense of what success really is. The second lesson that I was reminded of, I actually got a little chuckle out of it, was that if you are one of those integrity lacking people and you like to throw your minimal power around at the expense of others, then try not to have the audacity to ask one of those people for anything the next day, especially if that person is me.

Most of you are friends of mine, or at least acquaintances. You are because you show integrity and are genuinely good people. I choose to surround myself with good people, because generally good things happen when you are surrounded by good people. So, for those of you who are a friend, I appreciate you for being real and for naturally doing things the right way. And for those of you who will continue to be petty, juvenile, unprofessional, and cocky...when you realize you have hit rock bottom and have your own actions and chosen personality traits to blame, accept it quickly. Maybe then you can still grow up and become a man.

I Love Myself

Good morning to all, and to all a good morning. Sooooooooooo, some of you know I've been attending a weekly class called "Building Champions", more properly deemed by some as "I Love Myself 101". At first I didn't know what to think, and actually started the first class with some hesitation. Once the first class got underway, I realized that I was going to enjoy the class, and that there was a possibility that I'd come out of it loving myself even more! Jokes aside, it really has been a fulfilling course for me. I think I've learned a good amount from both our facilitator (she's pretty darn good) and from the other students in class. Once I was able to shut my own mouth for an extended period of time and others were feeling comfortable enough to open up, I think we all were able to learn new things about each other and ourselves. One of the most important lessons it reinforced for me was about the power of positive thinking. This whole abusive use of email privileges started because I was in a funk one day at work and needed a laugh. Once I got the laugh out, I was able to turn my whole day around. People tend to me more productive when they are happy, and tend to use more creativity in being productive. The positive attitude creates an atmosphere in which positive things are more likely to take place.

Sometimes I think we take our own minds for granted, not realizing how powerful they are. From now on, try to refrain from thinking, "it can't be done", or, "that's never going to work". Instead think, "I know this can work", or, "it can be done, I just need to figure out how...". You'll probably be a little surprised when things start going your way more often, because it seems like such a simple change. It's not always a simple thing to do, this thinking positively, and you're not always going to be in a good mood, conducive to your positive thinking, so just do something to get a quick laugh. Look in the mirror and fake a smile, tell a joke, write a funny email, or just close your eyes and think, "I wonder what it's like to be Jerry"...that should get a smile. Have a good day everybody, I'm gonna go get my self-lovin' on.

April Fools

As many of you may have deduced from not receiving a "Daily Dose of The Gerald" email yesterday, I was off. While many of you were at your desks yesterday, grumpy about it being Monday, wondering why in the world the phones would ring at 9:00AM on the dot, I was in bed sleeping... Well, I thought of something a little clever for yesterday, and since I missed it and we've already deemed "Two Fer Tuesdays", I propose "Make A List Mondays". Monday mornings are often glum and slow, as we are trying to get back into the swing of things after having off the weekend (a luxury that some of you may enjoy). First thing in the morning, as you sip your morning coffee, make a list of things you need to get done for the week. Maybe some phone calls you need to make, meetings you need to schedule/ attend, bills that need to be paid, maintenance on your car that needs to be done, etc. I am very guilty of letting things fall by the wayside, so I will be the first to practice this weekly list.

- Send out morning email (which will be prepared in my evenings and sent out for everyone's guidance and wisdom in the morning)
- Everyday this week, look into the mirror and explain to yourself why you're sooooo awesome.
- Pay car payment, electricity, rent, good-looking people tax
- Answer fan mail
- Get 5 apartment applications and turn them into happy move-ins
- Do homework for my Ninja Masters Program at the secret temple in the shadows of the mystical Mitsubishi Mountains
- Finalize plans to move to Cuba

Have a good day everybody, keep your April Fools pranks somewhat clean, especially while at work, but I want to hear some good stories later...