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I had trained for this 5k for 3 months. I had been training 6 days a week, with long runs on Saturdays and Sundays off. I was so excited up until 3 weeks beforehand, I strained my calf muscle. Unable to do much more than gimp, I resorted to RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation, and took the next 2 weeks off. Completely healed one week before race day—I had fallen into that blissful period of laziness. I didn’t want to run, do situps, count calories or take my vitamins. My next run after 3 weeks off would be race day. As I huffed and puffed down Nicolls Road, the wind battering against my face, the LIE appearing as a huge mountain to climb up, I cursed  myself for not having done a few short runs to at least warm up my muscles.

Needless to say, I wheezed through the finish line, proceeded straight to the WBAB truck where many supporters and runners were gathered, and tried not to fall over, vomit, or cry. After 15 minutes or so of lactic build up, I finally hobbled to confirm my time, and went home somewhat content with my mediocre placement.

Sore for four days, I signed up for my next 5k and hit the track straight after work the rest of the week.

Business Lesson: Sometimes in life, the difficult moments, the stressful moments, the painful moments—are exactly what we need to motivate us. You don’t transition from a stagnant career until you get fired; you don’t improve your work until someone surpasses you; you don’t train until you get passed by a 10 year old during a 3 mile race. In life as in business, we must take the negative and turn into the positive—always set your goals for revenue, for company growth, for personal growth, and embrace the challenges that make you more efficient as you climb the ladder of success.

http://www.ceriniandassociates.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=309:what-motivates-us&catid=68:blog&Itemid=131

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By the time I got home, ate dinner, and sat with my first glass of wine, there was no time for anything else but catching up with the pile of reading I had ignored for the day. After some weight gain, the flu, the stomach virus and a crippled immune system, I decided enough is enough, how do I take back my life?

We all know the “to-do list” always grows, with every item that gets crossed off, another gets added; with every magazine read, a new one arrives in the mail; with every luncheon follows a follow-up luncheon. So how do we go about finding the balance? Keep It Simple.

1. Take lunch. Even if its 15 minutes, get up, walk around, have a conversation, step outside. Rediscover the power of blood flow. By the time you get back to your inbox, you’ll feel a little more creative, a little more inspired, and a lot more refreshed.

2. Don’t stay 30 minutes later than you should. Sometimes, you have to stay late to make your deadline. But try not to stay later than 30—no brain works 24 hours, whatever you’re working on after the office is closed you’ll probably have to re-work in the morning anyway.

3. Take an hour for yourself, everyday. Easy on the weekends, hard on the weekdays. For me, I run. I run 5 days a week for 45 minutes. That’s my time; I owe it to myself after spending 8-10 hours on everyone else, now it’s my turn. The gym, cleaning, going through your closet, playing Xbox, doing the word jumble…whatever it is, do it, and do it for an hour.

4. Sleep. Do you really get 8 hours? When you can’t turn your mind off, or you can’t believe it’s already 11pm, just bring a notebook to bed. That way, whatever is plaguing you, whatever your brain is still stuck on, you can write down for morning. It has now become a tomorrow problem to tackle with a fresh mind.

Business Lesson: These four simple steps lead to being more productive, more aware, more efficient, more productive, and happier. Your mood is calmer because you’re spending more time with you, you’re sleeping—you’re living the work-life balance. Some days it’s harder than others, but always come back to the roots. The “to-do list” is always going to grow, learn how to manage it and add yourself—after all, what’s more important than quality of life?

Sunday morning, we woke up at 4am. We got dressed, packed up our gear, tore down the tents, and headed over to breakfast. We had another quick stop at the doctors for some stretching and Bio-Freeze (which, for those who don’t know, is like Ben-Gay or Aspercreme- but stronger!) and by 7:30am, we were on the route ready to start our day. We headed over the foot bridge to Manhattan’s East Side. The second day, naturally, was a little harder than the first. We were already in pain and sore from the first day. At least we only had to do 13.1 miles. We headed towards Central Park, across town, then toward downtown toward the Flatiron Building. That was the 10 mile mark for the day. Sunday was pretty much the same as Saturday in that we had our rest stops, lunch, and most importantly, the groups of people cheering us on! I’ll never forget the group of high school girls holding posters singing, “Walk, Walk! Save your boobies!” and giving high fives to all the walkers. Their encouragement means more to us than they will ever know.

By mile 11, I thought to myself- one step at a time! Keep going! I even pictured myself crossing the finish line. This and a little spiritual guidance helped me along the way. My fiancé, Justin, was at mile 13 waiting for us- video camera in hand, of course. Our team was walking/limping down the West Side Highway arm in arm. My sister said to me, “Hey, I see someone we know!”, and that’s when I saw Justin. At that point, tears started welling up in my eyes. When I reached him, he kept backing away toward the finish line- he said I’ll get my hug when I finish! I had a few choice words for him, but it was funny. He walked ahead a bit so that he could get a video of our whole team finishing together. Once we did, it was amazing! All these random strangers were cheering and clapping for us! It felt so good so accomplish our goal! As soon as we took a few pictures, I collapsed on the ground and sobbed for 5 minutes. I’m not a crier but it was so emotional. You think of the pain, the exhaustion and most of all, the people you walk for. Now I knew how my mother felt just 1 year earlier.

The Closing Ceremonies were pretty much the same as the year before. In total, the walkers raised $9.4 million! Our team raised over $13,000! Cheers could be heard blocks way! In the end, all the efforts we put forth- the training (or lack thereof), the blisters, the fundraising, the laughter, the tears and the memories- made it all worth it. Perhaps, I’ll sign up to do it again soon. But maybe I’ll let the blisters heal first!

Business Lesson: Just when you think it’s time to throw in the towel and give up, try a little more. Think positive! Without struggle, there would be no progress.

We waited anxiously for the Opening Ceremonies to begin. Slowly, the rest of the walkers arrived on the pier in their pink shirts, buttons, sashes, and any other pink item they possessed. By 7am, just before they opened the route, it looked like a sea of pink! My team and I waited at the starting line in hopes of getting a head start. Once the route opened, half of my team took off like Wile E Coyote in a Looney Toons cartoon. You could almost see a trail of smoke behind them. I prefer a “slow and steady” pace. Luckily, so did my aunt. We weren’t as quick as the others, but we would all finish at some point. Since I was hell-bent on finishing the 26.2 miles that day, I didn’t want to tire out too quickly.

Throughout the day, my aunt, my sister and I tried to stay together. We stopped at rest stops when we needed to fill up our water bottles, grab a snack or use the restroom. The crew members were so helpful in getting what we needed. Whether it was Gatorade, a pack of ice, or just some moral support, they were there for us. There were plenty of sights to see as well, so we stopped frequently for pictures. It was actually a pretty cool way to see parts of NYC that you may not normally see. By mile 17, just as we crossed over the Brooklyn Bridge, my sister had to stop. She pulled her hip flexor muscle in the first mile due to the fast pace. We were proud that she made it that far and since she wanted to finish the second day with all of us, we insisted that she rest for the day. She hopped on a charter bus that took her straight to Randall’s Island where she was able to get our gear and have our tents ready for us.

At that point, I already had massive blisters on my heels. Although I had cross trainer sneakers on that had been broken in, my feet simply weren’t prepared for the mileage. I just kept thinking of why I was doing this walk in the first place- for a friend who passed away in 2008 after battling breast cancer for over 3 years and for my grandmother who lost her battle in 1985. The pain I was in was nothing compared to what they went through! So I kept on trekking through Brooklyn and back over the Manhattan Bridge. That was a tough part because the section of the bridge for pedestrians who are crazy enough to walk over isn’t protected from the elements. The Brooklyn Bridge was easy- there are walls around the pedestrians to block the wind. Not so much for the Manhattan Bridge. Plus, the train is roaring by right next to you. The wind gusted over 30 miles an hour that day so my aunt and I felt as if we were going to blow off the bridge into the East river! But of course, it didn’t stop us from taking pictures of the breathtaking views!

On the Manhattan Bridge, we hit the 18 mile mark. I thought I would be able to make it, even if I was limping the whole way. As you walk, there are people in certain spots cheering you on! Just when you think you can’t go any further, you see a group of people (of all ages) cheering you on, singing songs, encouraging you and most importantly, thanking you! Even random passersby saw what we were doing and tearfully thanked us for walking! It was more difficult to hold back the emotions than to deal with the pain.

To read more about Rose participating in the Avon Walk, log in next week!

Don’t be fooled- selling your junk is harder than it looks! Again, we were determined. We asked everyone we knew again if they had anything they were getting rid of during their spring cleaning. We sorted through our own belongings and started storing everything we had in my mother’s garage. Believe it or not, it turned out great! The 3 car garage was full items we spend 2 months collecting. We put out ads in Newsday, the Penny Saver and Craigslist. We also posted signs on street corners in the neighborhood. On a somewhat chilly and wet weekend in April, we hosted the garage sale at my aunt’s house. We brought everything over and spent 3 hours setting everything up. Early birds came and took a little look around. Eventually, more and more people came, looked around and some even bought some items. We advertised that it was a fundraiser for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and wore the shirts that Avon provides all walkers. Once our ‘customers’ heard what we were doing, they were a little more generous with their payments and purchases! We were so excited! After working so hard over the last couple months and all weekend, we grossed almost $1,500. We split the proceeds among the teammates and celebrated. Who knew “junk” was so valuable!

The celebration was short-lived when we realized we still had a long way to go. In total, our team had to raise $10,800! It’s intimidating to say the least. However, with the success of the first garage sale, and still having some items left over, we knew we could do another one in the fall.

Over the next 6 months, we continued to ask for more donations with much success. Right before our second garage sale, we reached our goal! Each team member had over $1,800 in donations. The proceeds from the second garage sale ($1,000!) paid for the hotel room for the night before the event. We were so excited that we reached our goal and didn’t have to spend our own money for much.

Business Lesson: When having a fundraiser or selling goods and services, be cognizant of all costs and leave a little room for unexpected expenses. The purpose of fundraising or selling is to make a profit, not lose money you worked so hard for!

To read more about Rose participating in the Avon Walk, log in next week!

http://www.ceriniandassociates.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=283:avon-walk-part-ii&catid=68:blog&Itemid=131

Over the next couple weeks, I thought about signing up for the 2010 event. I had a few obstacles in my way- the worst being having sciatica issues. There are days when I can’t stand for more than an hour at a clip- how was I supposed to walk 40 miles? I also knew I had to prepare for this. It’s impossible to think you can make it across the finish line without being in decent shape. I could use a little improvement in that area! But then I thought about how the reward would vastly outweigh the risk involved. Seeing my mother cross that finish line along with everyone else was my main motivation. If that 91 year old woman could do it, then so could I! So I signed up and even got my sister to sign up as well. By the time the team was formed, we were 6 people deep and named ‘The Boozum Buddies’ by our Team Captain, Kelly, who is a breast cancer survivor and has done the walk for 5 years.

Now came the hard part! Fundraising! Each participant is REQUIRED to raise $1,800 by the event dates. If you don’t raise the money, you have to come up with the remainder out of your own pocket. Getting donations from people in this economy was going to be more challenging than the walk itself. But I was determined and began thinking positively!

The first step was to do the simplest thing- ASK! I sent out emails to everyone I knew. I posted on all my social network profiles what I was doing and what I needed. Within a week, I had over $200 in donations. I was pumped! I thought at that rate, I’d reach my goal in no time!

Business Lesson: When raising money for a cause, or even selling a product, don’t forget to ASK! Don’t expect people to just volunteer to pony up the dough if you don’t ask! It’s also easier for a person to NOT donate/buy when they aren’t being asked.

To find out if Rose raises the money in time for the Avon Challenge, log in next Friday!

• Can’t wrap one’s head around: cannot understand
• KPI (Key Performance Indicators):  a measurement of the often immeasurable
• Human Capital: formerly known as Personnel
• Skill set or fit: my personal favorite
• Footprint: not as in carbon footprint, but as in impact on anything
• Out of the box: which has now become commonplace

Many of these I have heard around our office, but the article goes on to point out one in particular that had me thinking:

Bus factor: Measure of how much a company would suffer if an employee got hit by a bus.

Whoa, I never really thought about this. What is my bus factor?  Am I supposed to have a high bus factor?  Wouldn’t that be a favorable thing come review time?  Or does that imply that I don’t share and play well in the sandbox (not on buzzword list).  If I met my demise by a bus, would my co-worker’s bus factor increase or decrease?  Does one person’s bus factor influence the team’s bus factor? What is the KPI on bus factor, and how does one’s title in the company impact this?  I am a little confused because I am now instructed not to use the buzzword; however, today I am consumed with my own bus factor.  At home, I know what my bus factor is: off the charts (possibly on the buzzword list).  On the job, it is not as easy to figure out.  I usually advocate cross-training and setting up procedure manuals to my clients to avoid a Lotto factor (I like to think positive and envision a department’s mass exodus upon winning a lottery).  However, I have really never tried to measure my own bus factor.  Being the person that I am, I have always tried to document everything so that someone else could step in my shoes (not on the buzzword list) just in case I take a sick day.  However, I also believe that your skills and knowledge of an industry are what sets you apart from others and gives you the competitive edge.

Maybe I have been out of the loop (definitely a buzzword to avoid), and that the firm has already a bus factor attached to me. So what do I do?  I have to rely that they are taking the appropriate steps to ensure their future, while developing me to excel at outstanding levels.  On the other hand, my bus factor could only get greater by sharing, developing others, and becoming a leader.  I guess in the scheme of things, we should all want a decent bus factor.  After all, wouldn’t a very low factor make us expendable?

Business lesson: Open communication between management and staff will foster relations that are necessary to promote a healthy organization.  Implementing reviews, cross-training staff, and documenting contingency plans within the organization assists staff in realizing they are an essential part of the team, while protecting the organization’s future.

So our trip to Zermatt comes to a close.  I view it as a very successful one.  During this trip I learned what my limits were and pushed passed pain and fear to reach them.  I did not give into failure, but instead created new successes, building off my previous experiences; taking one step at a time and learning from them.   While I never reached the summit of the Matterhorn, my initial goal, I had other adventures that were incredible, and I am now better prepared for whatever my next adventure will be.  And yes, someday I will go back and climb the Matterhorn … although I’ll probably be whining the whole way up.

Business Lesson: Sometimes in business things seem insurmountable … how am I going to meet that deadline, how am I going to make my budget, there’s no way to juggle everything, I’m already spread too thin, etc.  Remember, a mountain is made up of many little steps and hand holds lined one after another.  If you don’t focus on the mountain, but instead focus on the small steps that will help you to climb that mountain, you will be much better off.  In addition, make sure you provide yourself a life rope so that if you do fall you won’t crash to the rocks below.  This could be your employees … if you make them part of your team to the summit, give them the tools they need, and provide them with training, it is amazing how much they can help or  a coach or mentor you can call upon to help you put things in perspective.  Remember you don’t have to go it alone.  Finally, learn from each experience, so you can draw upon these past experience to help you reach the summit of your own personal Matterhorn.

Overall, other than my feet, I feel pretty good.  We are trying another mountain climb tomorrow, the Breitehorn.  It is supposed to be a combination of walking across glaciers, rock climbing, etc.  That one is nearly 14,000 feet and will be my highest mountain.  Mikhiel said it should take about 6 hours to climb it tomorrow….