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January 4, 2011 at 4:42 pm · Filed under New Year

Life on the Water | Blog on the Water.  Don’t you just love New Year’s.  Everybody gets a second chance.

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My New Book is called ‘No Whine, No Blame’

January 1, 2010 at 4:47 pm · Filed under 1, New Year and tagged: , , ,

I got this quote from Inspired Faith, a daily devotional that I receive by e-mail…

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Just made think about whining and blaming.  I whine.  And I’ve blamed everyone from Congress to the President to NMMA for the issues facing businesses on the water.

Whining and blaming is absolutely the two MOST counterproductive uses of energy known to mankind. They accomplish zero, make you look weak and un-Presidential, and merely dig a deeper hole in which to wallow.

My 11-year-old son’s GOAL for 2010 was this.

“…any time I see the news on TV, I’m going to turn the channel.  Except for the weather and if they’re saying something good.”  He’s 11 and smart enough to know that negative vibes breed negative actions.  Our situation comes down to one problem.  One change would immediately be a catalyst for our nation to thrive.  One initiative by leaders would change the course we’re currently on.

Language.

Advertising has been based on this premise since the beginning of time.  Reach and frequency.  How many people can you tell…and how many times can you tell them.  If I tell enough people they have restless leg syndrome…and I tell them enough times…they’ll make the appointment with their doctor (as instructed on the commericial) and take the pill they’ve been told to take.

So imagine if our leaders changed their language to be…

“We are the greatest nation on the face of the earth.  We can do anything.  And with the grace of God, we will turn this country around.”

Let’s start with ourselves…

“We live in the greatest region of the greatest nation on the face of the earth.  Our spirit and determination has been proven time and time again.  What our company does matters.  And with God’s guidance, we will bring more people to the water.”

Man, that felt great!  Let’s take whine and blame out of our psyche in 2010.  Let’s write the pages of our New Book in 2010 to be something our grandchildren would read and say, ‘Wow.  Big Mama was an awesome lady.  Strong.  Positive.  I’m stoked that she’s my grandma..’

Christy

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We hate resolutions. We like Goals for 2010.

December 30, 2009 at 11:15 pm · Filed under New Year

resolution:   a formal expression of opinion or intention to be made
goal:  an established result or achievement toward which effort is aimed

Resolutions are weak.  Goals are structured and quantifiable.  Resolutions are reasons to fail.  Goals are

Great Opportunities Achieving Life Skills.

Resolutions are something you say at a party…or on a blog.  Goals…well, goals are serious.  Once you say them, and especially write them down…and then go one step more and present them to the world…it’s at that point that you know you gotta put up or shut up.

So…Here’s my goals for 2010:

–Take more video and photos at the boat shows…always wish I had.  Come see us at Nashville, Huntsville, Birmingham and Chattanooga.  Yeehaw!
–get my Captain’s license…thanks to True Course Captain’s School
–Sit by the river for 30 minutes a week just writing.
–Lock through all by myself.
–Lose 25 lbs. by June 1.  5 lbs. a month.  1.19 lbs. a week.  0.17 lbs. a day…that’s do-able.
–Contact one person a week that just popped in my head.
–Walk a minimum of 4 days a week.  5:30 a.m.  When no one is awake.  So I can throw my arms up and down to get my heart rate up without the neighbors hee-hawing in the driveway.
–Call Mama and Daddy every other day.  Just ‘cuz.
–Interview my father-in-law, Howard Martin.  His health isn’t so good and we want to know more about his childhood.
–smile more.  Just helps.
–spend time around people that make you happy or laugh…or inspire or motivate you.  DON’T spend time around THOSE others.
and
–tell my sweet husband and precious boys how much they mean to me every day.  2009 taught me that you can never tell someone too much that you love them.  I’ll miss you, MamaBelle.

Billy, Jake, Christy and Cole…the Martins on the Flint River

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