Happiness Is A Balance: A Framework to Success

Happiness Is A Balance: A Framework to Success

•  By Vanessa Vogel via GovLoop.com
• 
  

Browsing through the many social and professional online networks that I am member of; I ran across a wonderfully written post by Vanessa Vogel on GovLoop.

Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness
© 2006 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. and GH One LLC (on print)

Ms. Vogel covers a topic that was presented by Frank DiGiammarino at last year's NextGen Summit conference. He discussed during his session the road to happiness and how it is achieved. 

The primary concept consists of three approaches; knowing who you are, comprehending why you do the things you do, and following up with doing activities that truly spark you interests. 

To view the entire post, visit this happy, balanced, framework site (meaning click the link). 

-Dominic

Happy Mother's Day 2013

We here at DominicRoss.net would like to wish every person in the world a very Happy Mother's Day.

Everyone has a mother. Whether she is with you today, or resting peacefully, without her you would not be here today and you would not be you. We are thankful for your mother; thankful that she helped to create and mold you for who you are today.

Mothers play an imperative role in all of life.  From conception, to nurture, to teaching, and chastising; mother's are the light of the world. Without their kind loving hearts, intelligent minds, and firm actions the world today would be a less enjoyed place. 

To quote the late great James Brown: "This is a man's world, but it wouldn't be nothing, NOTHING without a woman or a girl!" And those are the people who become mothers. 

The video embedded below has nothing to do with mothers. However, if we could do what the guy highlighted in this video did, we would do it for our mothers. 



We love our mothers and your mothers too. Happy Mother's Day!

Sincerely,

The DominicRoss.net Crew

Auf Wiedersehen Lindsay, hallo Julie

If you know anything about me; you know that I've been driving a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 300E for the past three years. That car was given to me by my stepdad. When I first encountered the car she was sitting in a parking lot all alone, damaged, and frozen over. There were multiple issues with her that I had to deal with. In one year, I turned her from a piece of junk back into a road champion. Replacing headlamps, a windshield, all four wheels and tires, a fuel pump, a water hose, exhaust and engine pipes, a battery, an oil change, liquid refills, brakes, and a few fuses the car was back to life. I won't discuss how much all that work costed me, but I was happy to engage in the car project instead of buying a car at an auction, or at a dealership. 

The only way to tell if she was ready to be in my life everyday was to see if she could get me to where I needed be. As soon as she was ready roll, I gave her my ultimate test. I drove the car from Atlanta to Savannah for four and a half (4.5) hours straight.  What a sweet ride she was. I made it back to Savannah in time to meet up with classmates for a final exam study group.

Thinking about the car I had before, I was very impressed with my new acquisition's modern amenities. She was equipped with power windows, a cd player and auxiliary hookups, SRS airbags, 6 cylinder engine, and power seats. For the car to be made in 1986 for '87 release, it had some pretty cool features. The other thing I loved about the car was the fact that it only had 114,000 miles on it. I was the third owner, just second to my stepdad. 

Our relationship has had a few ups and downs related to insurance prices, license plate taxes, and more repairs. The funniest thing is that I've never been good at naming items. One day on Twitter, I asked John Cusack to name her and he did; along with a group of other miscellaneous items people requested of him to name. Her name is forever Sen Lindsay Grahm (to me at least). 

Anyway, most recently I have been traveling extensively due to my new career related job. Lindsay (I call her that for short) started showing her age due to her prior owners' care methods. Each day I drove her, she would act worse. I saw advertised on the internet, about a month ago, a 2007 Mercedes-Benz C230 2007 for a reasonable price. I acted most hastily on the advertisement. I left my car (Lindsay) at the dealership due to the C230 being  inspected/fixed and my traveling to two different conferences. Unfortunately, that C230 had major problems that could not be fixed. That car ended up being auctioned immediately. When I got back, the news was delivered to me and I was very disappointed to say the least. I ended up having the dealer's demo car for about 3 1/2 weeks total and Lindsay just sat there.

In Lindsay's sitting, I think she got depressed and gave up on existing, or the dealership messed with her -- but I am not going to think negatively. I decided not to trade Lindsay in. When I went to start her up to take her home, her engine wouldn't turn. She had a new battery, an oil change, and recently passed an inspection.  I was befuddled. I was hurt. I didn't know what to do. Lindsay was unresponsive. She went to car lot heaven and I was car-less. It felt as if God had His own plan in action. Maybe He did.

A few days later the dealership called me back. It was the end of the month.  They were nervous. I was nervous. I was not trying to spend money on a S-Class Mercedes-Benz and I was not trying to spend money on something I really didn't want like a Camero, or Volkswagen Pasat (I like Corvettes, little red ones). Anyway, that day, I met my new car. I was quite surprised. I wasn't happy, but I was no longer disappointed. I was introduced to a BMW E90 328i. 

Yes, I am a Benz fan. However, I have never actually owned a BMW. I have driven quite a few, but only for short distances and times. The deal was, so fresh and, so critical. The dealership manager, finance manager, and my sales person were talking to me all at once. It was quite a funny scene if one were another customer in the dealership. 

I gave the car my own inspection even after the authorized BMW dealer across the street had already gave the two thumbs up. I got in the car and I was like Chris Tucker in Friday: "Heeeey Mrs. Parker!"  From the moment I pressed the gas, to the steering on to the street I had been sold. Of course I couldn't tell the dealer how excited I was, so I remained unemotional in appearance as much as possible. 

I drove the car back to the dealer lot, walked into the dealership, and sat down for about 5 minutes in silence.
Still looking at the staff in the building, I finally spoke and said "Let's make a deal."

In honor of Sen Lindsay Grahm and her outstanding service of 25 years driving, I have named the new car Sen and Grahm. Because the make is completely different the middle name is too. Thus the new car's name is Sen Julie Grahm. (lol) I am thankful to God for this blessing and I look forward to our many adventures. 

If you're a a genuine Mercedes-Benz fan, or would like to learn more about the company, try to join GenerationBenz, the Official MBUSA insider group. If you join, I look forward to seeing you on the inside.
If you like BMW more, check out BimmerFest.

-Dominic

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You can follow me on Twitter @NiCFX.