EJM Designs Limited Blog

Thursday, March 31, 2011

April 1: Get Your Internet Game Face On

April Fool's Day

If you're internet savvy (or if you're not and getting there), you know already that not everything you read online is valid. You need to check sources, hoaxes, and any other reason to tear silliness to ribbons.

Get your internet game face on.

Today is April Fool's Day.

While you should always check backgrounds and sources, April 1 is notorious for being a source of bedlam for the internet world: anyone who has a computer can post anything on the internet. And while most of these April Fool's bits of humor are not remotely malicious, they will make you look like a fool if you read something and say OMG! I have to pass this on to everyone I know!

Credible sources - including Google - have been party to such tomfoolery.

The lesson on April 1 is: Do your research and wait until tomorrow. Then, if still credible, do your email forwarding then.

Save the servers! No April 1st email forwards!

Monday, March 28, 2011

New Angle, Old Scam

spam

I know all my readers know better than to respond to an email saying you won the lottery (domestic or international), right? And no one from England or any country in Africa really wants you to help in the transfer of clandestine monies. Right?

But I'm still surprised when a small tweak in this absurd formula nets these scammers a heap of new suckers. And so I present something that came to my inbox last week. Behold, the "You've been scammed" Scam Spam letter:
Greetings to you

SCAMMED VICTIM/ $500,000 BENEFICIARIES.
REF/PAYMENTS CODE: ECB/06654 $500,000 USD.

On behalf of the Obama's Foundation and UNITED NATIONS, we wish to notify
you as a beneficiary of $500,000 USD in compensation of scam
victims.This is to bring to your notice that we are delegated from the
Obama's Foundation and UNITED NATIONS in Central Bank to pay 150 victims
of scam $500,000 USD (Five Hundred Thousand Dollars) each. You are listed
and approved for this payment as one of the scammed victims to be paid
this amount.

According to the number of applicants at hand, 114 Beneficiaries has
been paid, over a half of the victims are from the United States, we
still have a pending of 36 compensations left to be paid. Your
particulars was mentioned by one of the Syndicates who was arrested as
one of their victims of the operations, you are hereby warned not to
communicate or duplicate this message to him for any reason what so
ever as the U.S. secret service is already on trace of the other
criminals. So keep it secret till they are all apprehended.Other
victims who have not been contacted can submit their application as
well for scrutiny and possible consideration

Do contact HSBC INTERNATIONAL BANK, United Kingdom Branch for
verification and release of your $500,000 USD that we have deposited
with the HSBC BANK,UK.
The account log on will be presented to you by the bank in order to
access the funds before releasing into your nominated bank account.
You will transfer the funds into your nominated account on-line as the
HSBC BANK,UK will provide the necessary information to you. Please if you
are willing to accept the funds, do contact the Managing Director of the
HSBC BANK,UK with the following details:

You are to fill the appropriate form and submit to the bank.
[1] Full Names:.............................
[2] Contact address:....................
[3] Direct Telephone:....................
|4| Occupation:.............................

Managing Director of the HSBC BANK,UK
Name: Barr Mark Johnson.
Private Email: barr.markj39@hotmail.com

Yours Faithfully,
Dr.Majlis Daerah Marang
Coordinator.
OBAMA'S FOUNDATION AND UNITED NATIONS© 2010

Terrible English? Check!
Dubious personal email from the director of a financial institution? Check!
Unnecessary CAPS? CHECK!
Strange premise? Check!
Alternative red flag (2010? And an unnecessary copyright?)? Check!

C'mon folks. Bottom line: If someone you don't know sends you an email and wants to give you money, they are lying.

And because you already know this, you need to tell someone who might not know. Only through education of the non-savvy will we stop the predatory actions of a few thousand vultures. And it is our mission to spread that protection.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The One You Feed

An old Cherokee Chief was teaching his grandson about life.

"There is a great fight going on inside of all of us", he told him, "and it's a fight between two wolves.

"One is evil. He is anger, envy, guilt, sorrow and ego.

"And the other is good. He is joy, love, hope, truth and faith."

Grandson asked him, "Which wolf will win?"

The Chief replied,

"The one you feed."

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Love. Every. Day.

Monday

Why love Monday? It's your reset button, your hit-the-ground-running, your New Years Day of the week. Mondays are when we get a chance to look at what we can do better from the previous week and make that a focus.

Many people look at Monday as a plague - "a case of the Mondays" - but this is the day that owns the rest of the week, the day to wake with Success! in your head, to put on the conductor's cap and drive that train. Because if you don't, you're nothing but a passenger.

Takeaway: Monday is your engine!


Tuesday

Why love Tuesday? I've found that most people poo-poo away Mondays, so Tuesday is the busiest day of the week. We're getting things done, helping clients, taking calls, making calls, building new business and existing relationships.

Beside that, it's the "release" day of the week: movies on DVD, video games, new CDs, and - for the most part - books. This Tuesday, make business happen and find something new to love.

Takeaway: Tuesday is your genesis!


Wednesday

Why love Wednesday? Most people call it "Hump Day" while they slog through the week, the mid-point of a dismal outlook. NO! Wednesday is the first sign the business week is soon coming to a close, that there is a limit to what can happen in a business week. Get moving!

Send out your reminders, contact your clients, make sure something is happening before Friday.

Plus: New comics are released.

Takeaway: Wednesday is your lifesource!


Thursday

Why love Thursday? Based on the past few days, Thursday should be relatively quiet, so catch up on some things. Make Thursday the day you knock out your absurd inbox or make a weekly trip to your local networking group or just put on the headphones, hit the driving music (me: techno), block out the distractions and get it done.

As you may have heard, the weekend's on its way.

Takeaway: Thursday is your catch-up!


Friday

Why love Friday? What's not to love about Friday? It's the last "work day" of the week!

Most people fluff off on a Friday even more than a Monday. For some it's even more stressful because you've got to find some closure to the week, need to get X number of things done before the weekend.

But it's Friday! Make sure you spend some moments in the morning planning your day. Get what you can done and be okay with putting off the rest to next week. Close the deals, pause the conversations.

Plus: New movies are released in theatres every Friday. Popcorn time!

Takeaway: Friday is your closure!


Saturday

Why love Saturday? If you're like me, Saturdays are sometimes work overflow. But whether you work for yourself or someone else, Saturdays NEED to be yours! Do what you must - absolutely must - and nothing more business-wise. Get out there and fix that thing with the door or put a nail in that creaky step and retire in the evening with friends or family (and if you have neither nearby, call me) because you've been knocking it down hard for the last few days and if you work hard the general wisdom is that you must play hard - or at least play somewhat.

Takeaway: Saturday is your leisure!


Sunday

Why love Sunday? Football!

Just kidding. Yes, there's football, but from a business perspective, Sunday is the recharge day, the visualization day. If you want to preempt your Monday, knock through some emails. Follow-up on the Saturday gutter-cleaning or basement-organizing you didn't quite finish.

But relax. Please. Relax. Play some video games, catch up on your DVR shows, rent a movie, but spend your best parts of this day the way you want to spend it: in quiet peace alone, with family or other loved ones. Decompress.

And as you end the day, prepare for tomorrow, even if it's just mentally saying to yourself "Success!" as you fall asleep. Because Monday's coming and Monday's exciting because Monday's your reset button, your hit-the-ground-running...

Takeaway: Sunday is your recharge!


Every Day

Why love Every Day?

Because you're here. You're alive. You're doing what you do and you're going to be better at it every single day you do it.

You're going to Love Every Day because if you don't, you will lose. You will fail, as a business and as a human being. Yes, you are allowed some bad days, some idontwannas, but your motivation is your own, your conductor-ship of the train or bus is yours to hold or drop.

Drive your bus. Conduct your train. Make it count in both business and in life. Work your ass off and spend serious time with those you care about. And don't - ever - forget yourself. Quiet- beer- video game- movie- meditation- time is probably the most important part of the equation.

So love yourself, love others, love what you do. In that order.

Love. Every day.

As my father coined: "Love is the bond."

Make it happen in your life. Make it happen for you. And never forget to love every day.