David Shanahan

I received this simple and profound story in a forwarded email from my friend Brian.  I thought it was a great reminder and absolutely true!  Check it out…..  

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a
big notice on the door on which it was written: ‘Yesterday the
person who has been hindering your growth in this Company passed away. We
invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the
gym’.

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of
t heir  colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious
to know who  was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and
the company  itself. The excitement in the gym was such that security
agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement
heated up. Everyone thought: ‘Who is this guy who was
hindering my progress?  Well, at least he died!’. One by one the thrilled
employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly
became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in
silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked
inside it could see himself.  There was also a sign next to the mirror that said:
‘There is only one person who is capable to set Limits to your growth: it is YOU .
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs.

I highly recommend the Le Meridien Condo/Hotel in Sunny Isles Beach.  A long weekend with these amazing beaches will take away all your stress.  I could live in Miami, no problem.

Pics:  The View from our Condo, The four of us on St. Patty’s Day (Me, Tammi, Cousin Francine, Dimitry and baby Alex). 

I think its funny (in a disturbing way) how our National Debt has not been a major topic for the Presidential canidates.  Its a huge problem that needs to be addressed, quickly!

Here is a great article in the AJC.  Link >

Our national debt is going to reach 10 Trillion Dollars.  Thats $10,000,000,000,000.00.  Here are few quick facts about that huge number:

• Thats $30,000 of debt for every Man, Woman and Child in America
• The debt is expanding by 1.4 Billion each day
• Or about $1 Million in debt every minute

What does that mean for you?  An even weaker Dollar, Further economic slowdown and eventually increased taxes.  I hope this issue is an important part of the next presidential election. 

Its time for the government to take action by raising fuel economy standards to 35 mpg by 2020.  Many believe that it cant be done…   We know it can!!!

If you are a part of the auto industry then you can join the fight by visiting 35mpgby2020.com and sign the Letter to Congress.  

If you are not part of the auto industry then you can join the fight by visiting SaveOurEnvironment.Org and sign the Letter to Congress.

Increasing the fuel economy standards to 35 mpg by 2020 would:

• Create new U.S. Jobs
• Reinvigorate the U.S. Auto Industry
• Reduce our dependence on foreign oil
• Improve Air Quality
• Reduce Global Warming

We have the technology to make this possible.  Reduce weight by using composite materials like Carbon Fiber.  Technologies like Direct Injection and Turbo charging improve fuel economy.  Plug in Hybrid and Electric Hybrid Assist increase horse power and curb the use of gasoline. 

For Example:  On the latest Mercedes Benz F700 research car based on the Full Size S Class they used these exact technologies.  The result - A 1.8 Liter Turbo Charged, Electric Hybrid Assist achieved an amazing 44.3 mpg and a 0-60mph time of 7.5 seconds.  Not bad for a full size family sedan that is actually longer than the current Mercedes S Class in production.  We have the technologies…  Lets use them to improve our country and quality of life. 

Update 12/7/07.  House Sets Higher Goal for Vehicle Fuel Efficiency

I was in Charleston, SC for a wedding this weekend. We walked the famous downtown areas and really got a feel for the atmosphere in Charleston. A very cool city - It reminds me of Savannah or New Orleans (without all the drinking). Very laid back and plenty of history.

We went to eat at a place called Hyman’s Seafood on Meeting Street. The place is famous for there fresh local seafood and great customers service. On each table was a deck of cards with different saying and quotes on them. Some were funny and others promoted the business. One of the cards had the following quotes on it. I thought the saying was increadibly smart and inspired me to pay more attention to my attitude. Here is goes:

“Attitude” by Chuck Swindol

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important then appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…

we are in charge of our ATTITUDES.

Atlanta has a major problem.  Another year of drought and we are out of water.  Water rationing, water bans and the closing of businesses that use large amounts of water is not out of the question.  The growth of Atlanta and the number of businesses and people moving to our city could greatly slow as our water resources run out.    If the government doesn’t fix the problem we may have more people displaced than hurricane Katrina.  Watch this report on the Atlanta Drought situation and let me know what you think. 

ABC World News Report on “Atlanta Lakes Drying Up”

Its official. Our episode of TLC’s Property Ladder is going to air on September 29th at 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm.

Taken from the TLC Property Ladder website:

Should be an interesting show. Get the inside scoop by clicking on the investment property category tag on the right. I documented the entire flip and filming process. We will see how it looks on TV.

Although our episode of TLC’s Property Ladder has not aired yet, I’m 100% certain I’ll never do reality TV again. Here are a few reasons why the filming of Property Ladder was not worth the 15 minutes of fame:

1. Long Hours - Hundreds of hours of filming for a one our episode.
2. Very Poor Compensation - $1,000 split three ways and furniture staging for one month (about $1,500).
3. A constant focus on the negative things that happen (and we had plenty).
4. Snarky Host - Kirsten Kemp.
5. Lack of Reality - Almost everything was reenacted or dramatized.

Although I must say it was quite an experience and something I’ll never forget. Should be a good laugh.

Maybe it was just my family but do you remember when having a soda was something special?  As a kid I got to have a soda after dinner or when we went out to eat (which wasnt every night).  Now it seems like you have a soda with almost every meal.  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner - It doesnt matter.  A Coca Cola goes with everything, right?  Only in America.  Lets take a look at some of the more popular brands of soda and see how many grams of sugar are in each 12 oz can.

• Sunkist Orange Soda -  52 grams of sugar
• Fanta Orange Soda - 51.5 grams of sugar
• Mountain Dew - 47 grams of sugar
• Vanilla Coke - 42 grams of sugar
• Dr. Pepper - 41 grams of sugar
• Coca Cola Classic - 40.5 grams of sugar
• Pepsi - 40 grams of sugar
• Sprite - 39 grams of sugar

To put this in perspective:  A teaspoon of granulated sugar is equal to about 4 grams.  So the next time you slug down a 20 oz bottle of Orange Soda you are having about 20 teaspoons of sugar or about a half a cup of granulated sugar. 

I wonder why Diabetes is on the rise in America?