June 2010 Update

“Why choose failure, when success is an option” – I recite this quote every day (sometimes several times per day). It keeps me focused on the things I need to do to make a positive impact on those around me. What keeps you on track?

Too many people settle for less in life, to only look back and wonder what might have happened if they made a change to follow their passion. Well, yesterday was June 15^th, the mid-way point of 2010. How are things going? Are you achieving the personal and professional goals that you’ve charted for yourself? Are you working on the things that make you the happiest and make a difference in lives of other people?

Here are some great achievements taking place around you – in your expanded network of friends, family and colleagues. Support them because they are working on their dreams and goals. They are choosing success and can use all the help they can get.

All the best and make it a great week.

1. LUCY WOODWARD LAUNCHES DEBUT VERVE ALBUM “HOOKED” – (http://www.lucywoodward.com/) – Lucy is a very good friend who just released an amazing album, “Hooked”. She’s receiving well deserved press on Access Hollywood, Marie Clare magazine and through many other media sources. Make some time to enjoy her songs and you’ll definitely be hooked (pun intended). http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hooked-bonus-track-version/id371713051

2. IQUBZ LLC – (http://www.iqubz.com/) – Stephan and Ashu are great friends and Managing Directors for IQubz LLC. The software we use at my company, Profitiviti, was built and currently supported by IQubz and we could not ask for a better business partner. Please keep them in mind for any systems work that you might be considering. In summary, IQubz is a global software solutions and service provider specializing in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Business Intelligence (BI). IQubz, a Microsoft Certified Partner, offers solutions and services based on Microsoft technology and Microsoft Dynamics business solutions platform. IQubz is owned and managed by professionals with solid backgrounds in variety of industries including financial services, hospitality and travel, retail and wholesale distribution, field service and professional services.

3. SONRISA SCHOOL (MISSION VIEJO) – (http://www.sonrisaschool.org/) – Ashu (profiled above in IQubz) and his wife Priya have operated an amazing school for kids with special needs for over 10 years. Recently, their school Sonrisa was profiled in the Orange County Register (http://www.ocregister.com/news/school-251788-students-sonrisa.html). As you know, helping kids with special needs is a strong passion for my wife and I. Having a connection with Ashu and Priya is terrific and we are very proud of the services and support they provide.

4. SHARED PERFORMANCE – (http://www.sharedperformance.com) – My friend Steve Tiches recently launched a new company called Shared Performance that focuses on helping organizations achieve desired results by maximizing the efficiencies of individuals. The Shared Performance software determines what things must be achieved in order for a company to obtain specific results, who is responsible for each achievement, and provides companies with an understanding of what they get for the money they spend on obtaining specific results.

5. MYSMARTBIO – (http://www.mysmartbio.com) – A friend for the past 15+ years, Steve Walters has launched a very nice website with some business partners. MySmartBio is a free online utility for sharing and managing your personal career information. For young and mid-career professionals, SmartBio offers a lifelong home for managing social network profiles, building online personas/resumes, showcasing work samples, professional development, connecting with 1000+ job sites and more. Whether you appear on a social network, job board, recruiter or employer site, SmartBio allows you to control and update your online presence anytime, anywhere in a single click. Here is a recent Wall Street Journal article: http://blogs.wsj.com/hire-education/2010/06/17/whale-watching-the-art-of-the-mentorship/?mod=rss_WSJBlog&mod=WSJ_hire_education

6. WILBUR RANCH TOFFEE – (http://www.wilburranchtoffee.com/) – Melinda Miller used to work at Universal Studios and recently launched Wilbur Ranch Toffee. Inspired by her grandmother, Melinda began baking when she was a young girl and developed a passion for making exceptionally delicious desserts and candies. She is best known for her gourmet almond toffee which she made for special occasions and gifts. Encouraged by her friends and family, she has turned her love for making toffee into a business. Wilbur Ranch Toffee’s mission is to create distinctively delicious toffee products and promote elegant gift giving. Exclusively made in small handcrafted batches, discover the most exquisite toffee your palate will savor. Wilbur Ranch Toffee uses only the finest premium quality ingredients in each of its creations. The gourmet toffee is also available for holidays, special occasions, corporate events, parties, weddings, showers, charity dinners or private affairs. Melinda can be reached at melinda@wilburranchtoffee.com.

7. MAEDAWN WELLNESS CENTER – (http://www.MaeDawn.com) a friend from the Sony Pictures Days, Gina Candido, has launched a new career as a Wellness Coach. In short, they offer guidance and counseling for people to live more natural lives through Holistic Therapies. Her area of expertise is energy therapy (Reiki) for stress relief and relaxation. Additionally, she is getting her certification to be a Hypnotherapist. She is also teaming up with a family therapist (38 years experience) and a nutritionist to offer the full holistic experience - caring for the body, mind, emotions and spirit. Check out their website or Facebook for more information: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rancho-Cucamonga-CA/MaeDawn-Wellness-Center/110501512315719 .

8. “SELF REFLECTION” GUITAR ALBUM – (http://www.gustepper.com/srindex.html) – Gus Tepper has been a long time friend after we met at Sony Pictures. Gus is from Argentina and love South American music. He recently created a website where he can share his songs and albums: “South America Guitar” and “Self Reflection”.

9. DESIGNED2DREAM SPECIAL EVENTS DESIGNER – (http://www.designed2dream.com/) – Sherri Curtis is a friend from Herbalife who has been playing special events for over 15 years. Designed2Dream’s vision is to create an atmosphere of excellence, excitement and of great anticipation. Your event will be a day of elegance, a day you are sure to never forget. You will leave your dreams and walk into reality!

10. HANDS ON CONCEPTS – (http://www.teamhoc.com) – A friend Teidi Tucker’s husband founded a fantastic company called, Hands On Concepts. He runs a complete product development company that creates amazing producible goods for the disabled products industry: MonoSki, Outriggers, Mono Hauler, Wheelchairs, etc. These high-end adaptive living products allow individuals with disabilities to enjoy sports and other everyday living experiences to the fullest.

January 2010 Update

Happy TWENTY-10!!!! Hope you all enjoyed a happy, safe and fun holiday season. Hard to believe we’ve already closed the first decade of the 2000’s. In our Profitiviti blog (http://profitiviti.wordpress.com) I asked the question, “What’s in your highlight reel?” Here the exercise was to reflect on your accomplishments, learnings and experiences to relive the year and decade through a virtual memory book. From me, it was a great couple hours of un-plugging from work to mentally review some amazing and challenging times. Additionally, the beginning of the year is a great time to focus on your positive impacts your will have in the future.

In this “Friends Doing Good Things” update there are a ton of great things to share! I continue to be amazed at all of your awesome accomplishments, despite some of the most challenging economic times of our lives. As always, I urge you to support the efforts of your network of friends and pass forward their contact information within your own network of friends and family. All the best for a life-changing 2010!!!!

1. YEARN FOUNDATION – (http://yearnfoundation.org) – Brent Dance is a friend that I met while he was a member of a very strong Deloitte Strategy team that we were working with at Herbalife. He and his wife recently welcomed a new baby into their family and it’s been a pleasure keeping in touch with him over the years. I’m inspired by his new organization: the Yearn Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of Russian orphans. Yearn is based on the principle that what we yearn for, we can achieve, no matter our circumstances. Yearn's mission is two-fold: (1) provide for the material and medical needs of children and (2) implement life skills education and career development programs in orphanages to help orphans adapt and succeed in society once "emancipated." Recently, Yearn experienced small success. Just last month, Yearn raised money for Kostya - a small boy with spina bifida and hydrocephalus - to pay for critical medical operations allowing him to walk again. Yearn was also recently selected by Lost Lake Creative to be featured in the documentary film the Identity Project. Currently they are raising funds for an orphanage in Eastern Siberia. They are excited for what the future holds and encourage you to join our Facebook and LinkedIn groups to stay connected and help them create some serious Yearn!

2. FRESH CONSULTING – (http://freshconsulting.com) – Keeping the accomplishments in the family for a bit, Fresh Consulting was founded by Brent’s cousin, Jeff Dance – another strong team member from Deloitte that we enjoyed working with a few years ago. Fresh Consulting is a team of strategic business consultants that focus on emerging web technology to deliver business results. Their capabilities in strategy development, website design/implementation and social media are second to none. Jeff also helped launched another great resource to discover the best of the web by evaluating a comprehensive list of capabilities and services available online, www.web2review.com.

3. PAMPERED CUSTOMIZED SKIN CARE SOLUTIONS – (Studio: http://www.skincarebylaurie.com/) – Debbie Luscomb Figuredo is a good friend that moved out of the corporate world to follow her passion of helping clients with their skin care needs. She is a member of the Associated Skin Care Professionals and has set up her studio in the South Bay, on Hawthorne Blvd in Torrance. She is currently offering all of her services to you and your extended family and friends. What that means to you is a $20 referral discount off your next appointment, and for them a locked in low rate on all services offered: Microderm, photo-facials and peels. Her rates will be $50 per hour for a limited time through June and all treatments can be customized to be completed in this time frame.

4. PREP & LANDING – (http://disney.go.com/partners/prepandlanding/) – A good and long-time friend from elementary school, Ian Cooney, was the EFX Supervisor on the recent Disney holiday program, Prep & Landing. A great, family show that we enjoyed – great job Ian and team. For additional information, see their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/PrepandLanding.

5. iPHONE VOICE BAND APPLICATION by WAVE MACHINE LABS– (http://www.wavemachinelabs.com/) – While working for Andersen Consulting and living in Chicago for two years back in the mid-1990’s, I met Tracey Coldewey. She has been a good friend ever since and is now married to Rim Buntinas, a very talented musician, artist and entrepreneur. Rim is President of WaveMachine Labs is proud to announce Voice Band 1.0 for the iPhone. Voice Band turns your voice into a musical instrument, allowing you to create complete songs by simply singing a melody into your iPhone. A built-in recorder lets you create songs one instrument at a time. Voice Band works in real time as you sing, and includes ten instruments: two electric guitars, bass, saxophone, two synthesizers, organ and drums. Check out this YouTube link to see Rim and Voice Band in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QxN1u7KWDM. WaveMachine Labs, located in Chicago, IL has been producing music software for over ten years. Its flagship product Drumagog, a drum replacer, has won several critical awards and is used worldwide in recording studios.

6. NATIVE CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPES – My cousin’s Dave & Brenda Matea are inspiring in their efforts to conserve water, but also they are making their home and community more attractive through their installation of a native California landscape (http://gallery.me.com/dmatea#100003). Their slogan is, "Changing the environment, one landscape at a time!" In order to pass along more information if you are interested, here are some links for their landscaper (http://www.calown.com/) and an upcoming Native Plant Garden Tour (http://www.theodorepayne.org/Tour/).

7. BOOK RELEASE: “COURT REPORTING: BAD GRAMMAR/GOOD PUNCTUATION” – (http://www.ncraonline.org) – I’ve known Margie Wakeman for around 33 years and her son Tedd has been a good friend since our days of U5 AYSO soccer. Margie has been teaching for 46 years, of which 34 have been spent teaching court reporting. She has taught over 300 seminars all over the country on English grammar and punctuation. Her book, Court Reporting: Bad Grammar/Good Punctuation, is a textbook/reference book on how to punctuate the court reporting transcript. It is being published by the National Court Reporters’ Association and will be available in March at the online bookstore at ncraonline.org. There will be a book signing at the NCRA Midyear Convention in San Francisco

8. JOSE CORRAL APPOINTED TO PROTOTYPES NON-PROFIT BOARD – (http://www.prototypes.org) – PROTOTYPES was featured in our “Friends Doing Good Things” blog back in February 2009. This is a great organization providing treatment services in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, trauma, health issues, domestic violence, and reentry and prevention, outreach, and education services to women, children and families. A friend from Pepperdine grad-school is the CEO of this organization and another good friend from Pepperdine was just appointed to their Board.

“Jose Corral serves on the Board of Directors of PROTOTYPES whose mission is to rebuild the lives of women, children, and communities impacted by substance abuse, mental illness, and domestic violence. PROTOTYPES’ programs ensure that children have a place where they feel safe and nurtured as their mothers receive the residential counseling and treatment they need. To learn more about PROTOTYPES, please visit www.prototypes.org to see testimonials from alumni, take a video tour, donate to the cause, and learn more about their treatment programs. PROTOTYPES relies on financial support from people in our communities. Help them spread the word about their amazing work by becoming a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/PROTOTYPES/199789313132.” I know that Jose, Cassandra and the rest of the Board of Directors thank you for anything you can help with in supporting their mission.