The Biggest Threats in Your Inbox

Email communication still reigns supreme, and that means it's the preferred 'in' for cyber attacks.

5 Steps to Finding a Personal Style that Exudes Success

Do your clothes make you feel unstoppable? Because they should.

Why Smart Internet Marketers Are Opting for Native Advertising

Consider that 32 percent of consumers are open to sharing a native ad with friends, family and colleagues, while only 19 percent of consumers will share traditional banner ads.

8 Tips for Building Your Personal Brand in 2017

The better your brand as a businessperson, the more it helps your company.

Branding is such a crucial component of success. Think of some of the largest companies in the world -- from Nike’s “swoosh” to Apple’s icon -- everyone is familiar with the brands they created.

Today, building your personal brand is just as important as building your company’s brand -- in fact, it might even be more important. Consumers want to hear the story behind the founders -- the failures, struggles and the success. This means putting yourself out there and marketing yourself in addition to your business. 

My company is launching a new division next week -- an influencer marketing agency -- and it was made possible, in part, to the personal brand I have built. The contacts I have developed over the years with large brands, agencies and influencers all happened because of my personal brand. Here are eight tips to help you build up a strong personal brand this year.

1. Be visible and accessible.

You can’t hide in your office behind your computer and expect to build a personal brand. You need to get out and make yourself visible and accessible. Attend industry conferences, even if it’s just to network and socialize. Make your social media profiles open to the public and allow incoming messages. Hold live video Q&A sessions on social media and interact with your followers. The more visible and accessible you make yourself, the stronger your personal brand.

Related: 5 Steps to Build Your Personal Brand

2. Show the real you on social media.

Don’t use social media as a 100 percent marketing channel. It’s fine to throw an offer out there or promote your company occasionally, but focus on showing the real you. If you come across as a robot or unauthentic you will push people away. Consumers love to see the other side -- what you do on the weekends, where you eat, what your hobbies and interests are, etc. This makes you appear more human, which attracts more people to you. 

3. Understand your industry inside and out.

Your business is only as good as the people running it, yourself included. It’s important that you understand your industry inside and out -- common sense. But, this also means staying up to date on latest trends, breaking news and your competition. When you do this, it helps to position yourself as a thought leader in your industry, elevating your personal brand to a higher level.

Related: 10 Unconventional Ways to Build Your Personal Brand

4. Practice 2-way networking.

A lot of people network the wrong way. They focus on their own needs and personal benefit, completely ignoring those needs and wants of the other person. Focus on 2-way beneficial networking, making sure to give the other person an opportunity to benefit from the relationship as well. This approach will help you secure more connections and opportunities, which will all contribute to strengthening your personal brand.

5. Maintain a detailed database of contacts.

As your personal brand grows, so will your list of contacts. It’s important that you keep a detailed list of all your contacts. Who the person is, where you connected, potential opportunities and how you can help them are all things to keep track of. While it can be a great resource to search when you need something, it can also be referenced when you have an opportunity. Your relationships will become much stronger and beneficial when you approach a contact with an opportunity that helps them without asking for anything in return.

Related: 22 Statistics That Prove the Value of Personal Branding

6. Become a trusted source of breaking news and relevant information. 

You know your personal brand is strong when you become a source of information. Strive to be the person media outlets and journalists contact when they need expert advice or information on a popular topic or breaking news. Start by sharing news and information that you feel is useful on social media and send it to your email list. This can also help to build your following, which leads to people viewing you as a trusted authority in your industry. Ultimately, this will attract more people to you.

7. Develop a strong value proposition.

Every major company has a value proposition and you should too. What makes you, as a person, attractive to potential customers or clients? What is it that makes you special? What should someone work with you? Once you have this established, make sure your audience knows what it is.

Related: How to Build a Personal Brand That Elevates Your Company

8. Give back.

Aside from feeling good and giving you personal satisfaction, giving back can help you build your personal brand. Whether it’s donating money to a charity or volunteering your time to a cause that’s important to you, this type of deed can benefit your personal brand. You can highlight your charitable deeds on your website and even issue press releases to attract positive attention. People remember selfless acts.

How to Start Saving Money Today

Take control of your financial future.

"Financial freedom comes to the person who actively takes control of their finances," says Entrepreneur Network partner Brian Tracy.

In this video, Tracy explains how you can begin saving money and start taking control of your financial future. In order to set yourself up for longterm financial freedom, it's important to save at least 10 percent of every paycheck that you earn. Savings guarantee the possibilities of tomorrow, says Tracy. Another tactic to begin saving, is to learn. Read, take classes, listen to podcasts -- there are a number of ways to educate yourself on personal finance. 

Tracy also touches upon the book The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason. In the book, Tracy says there are two laws of saving that you should follow: Pay yourself first and take advantage of tax deferred earnings and investment plans (401Ks, stock option programs, company pension plans, etc.). 

To learn how you can start saving money today, click play. 

Watch more YouTube videos from Brian Tracy on his channel.

5 Social Media Studies That Will Boost Your Marketing Skills

To help you better understand the ever-changing social media landscape, check out these studies.

We are very grateful for all the research that has been done on social media.

Social media studies have given us great ideas to improve our social media marketing, helped us understand the psychology behind social media behaviors and made us better marketers.

To help you better understand the ever-changing social media landscape, we jumped into the latest social media research papers, hoping to discover some under-the-radar insights to help supercharge your social media marketing strategy.

In this post, I’d love to share what we discovered and bring you some insightful and surprising social media studies of 2016, sharing the key findings and actionable takeaways you can try today.

1. Facebook is more than 2 times as popular as the next most-popular social network

Seventy-nine percent of U.S. adults are on Facebook, more than twice the percentage of adults on Instagram (32 percent)

Surveying 1,520 U.S. adults above the age of 18, the researchers found that Facebook is still the most popular social media platform -- and by a huge margin. The percentage of U.S. adults on Facebook (79 percent) is more than twice the percentage of adults on Instagram (32 percent), Pinterest (31 percent), LinkedIn (29 percent) or Twitter (24 percent).

It’s also interesting to note that percentage of adults on Instagram has risen significantly over the last few years (from 13 percent to 32 percent), Pinterest has also seen a similar curve with 31 percent of U.S. adults now using the platform -- that’s just 1 percent less than Instagram.

The researchers also discovered that Facebook users are much more engaged than other social media platform users. Seventy-six percent of Facebook users use it daily -- 55 percent visit several times a day and 22 percent visit once per day. This is a quite substantial increase from the 70 percent reported in 2015.

Instagram, coming in second, has 51 percent of its users using it daily.

(If you want to find out more, the report by the Pew Research Center also goes into the demographics of users on these social media platforms such as gender, age, education and income breakdowns. It could be handy for creating your marketing personas.)

Key takeaways for marketers

As we discovered in our State of Social Media 2016 report, Facebook is one of the best platforms for marketers to reach their audience. Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm seems to be prioritizing videos at the moment, so I’d recommend experimenting with videos and Facebook Live videos. If you have the budget, Facebook ads is a popular option among marketers, too.

2. Over 1/3 of Instagram users are on Instagram for surveillance (yes, surveillance!)

Knowledge-gathering is the No. 1 reason people use Instagram, followed by documentation

Have you ever wondered why your followers chose to use Instagram? Research says: to keep tabs on you (and your brand).

A research team at the University of Alabama performed a study on the motivation for using Instagram. They asked over 200 undergraduate students how often they use Instagram for each of 20 given reasons such as “to follow my friends,” or “to depict my life through pictures.” Here’s the full list:

After analyzing the results, the research team narrowed down the 20 reasons into four main motivators for using Instagram:

1. Surveillance -- People use Instagram to keep up with or gain knowledge about what others such as their family, friends and strangers are doing.
2. Documentation -- Many use Instagram to document moments of their lives, and Instagram becomes a virtual photo album for those key moments.
3. Coolness/popularity -- People use Instagram to appear cool and to gain popularity. Having a following and receiving likes satisfy our psychological need to feel seen and valued.
4. Creativity -- People use Instagram to portray their skills by posting creative posts.

Here’s how I’d look at the findings: When someone chooses to use Instagram, 36 percent of why they use Instagram is because they want to know what others (or your brand) are doing, 10 percent is because they want to document moments of their life, 8 percent is because they want to be cool and popular and 6 percent is because they want to show off their creativity. The remaining 40 percent was not accounted for by the study.

All four motivators lead to more time spent on Instagram -- but in different ways. Here’s a chart showing the relation of motivations to activities:

• People who are driven by any of these four motives tend to spend more hours on Instagram than those who are driven by other motives not accounted for by the study.
• Instagram users who want to appear cool or creativity tend to spend more time editing their photos than those who are motivated by other reasons.
• Those who use Instagram particularly to appear cool and to gain popularity tend to use hashtags more frequently than the rest of the users.

Key takeaways for marketers

Understand your audience’s habits and motivations for using Instagram or other social media platforms. This can inform your strategy for each social media platform.

For example, on Instagram, you can fulfill your followers’ desire to know more about you and your brand by revealing more about yourself or your customers (through user-generated content).

3. 62 percent of U.S. adults get news on social media

Most get news from Facebook, followed by YouTube, then Twitter

Social media has changed the way we consume news. Instead of watching the TV, listening to the radio or reading the newspapers, more people are choosing social media as their source of news.

Through a survey of 4,654 U.S. adults, the Pew Research Center found that 62 percent of U.S. adults get news on social media, with 18 percent doing so often. Back in 2012, the figure reported, based on a slightly different question, was only 49 percent.

Looking at the breakdown for each social media platform, the researchers found that 44 percent of the population uses Facebook to get their news. Interestingly, YouTube is the next platform with 10 percent of the population getting their news from there.

The researchers also discovered that Facebook, Instagram and YouTube users tend to chance upon news when they are doing other things online. On the other hand, LinkedIn, Twitter and Reddit users are slightly more likely to be seeking for news online.

Takeaways for marketers

You can take advantage of this trend by sharing news relevant to your audience on your social media profiles. Sharing great, relevant content can be a way to establish your brand’s authority in the field.

In our case at Buffer, we see great engagement when we share the latest and most interesting social media news with our followers.

4. Social media is proven to increase consumer loyalty

Social media engagement improves brand perception, loyalty and word of mouth recommendations

Social media spending is on the rise -- 42 percent of marketers said their budget has increased this past year while only 7 percent saw a fall in their budget. But there has been little research on the effects of social media interactions on consumer-brand relationships.

This prompted a group of U.S. researchers to investigate how social media interactions with brands influence consumers’s perception of the brand, their brand loyalty and their word-of-mouth recommendations.

Overall, they found that consumers who engage with their favorite brands on social media have stronger relationships with those brands than those who don’t. They are more likely to have a better evaluation of the brands, stay loyal to the brands and recommend the brands to others.

They also discovered that this effect is influenced by how humanized the consumers feel about the brand. If they feel connected to a brand like they do with another person, the relationship is stronger than when they view the brand simply as an object.

Key takeaways for marketers

Be on social media and be social. It isn’t enough to be on social media to promote your content. Your followers want to be heard.

Engage with your audience and make them feel connected to you. At Buffer, we try to reply to every tweet about us and every comment on our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn posts.

5. The three types of gamification that increase social media engagement

Challenges, curiosity and fantasies drive likes, shares and comments on Facebook

So how do you engage your audience? According to this study, gamification could be one of the best ways.

Two researchers in the U.S. studied over 200 Facebook posts by Walmart to determine how gamification can drive more social media interactions.

They found that the use of gamification elements in social media posts generally led to high levels of engagement. On the flip side, posts without gamification elements had low levels of engagement.

The researchers found three successful gamification methods:

1. Challenge: Posts that elicited a challenge tend to receive a high level of engagement if the challenge requires little effort. For example, this simple challenge to spot the number of differences in two pictures generated over 9,100 likes and 2,900 comments.

In contrast, when the challenge requires a great amount of effort, the social media posts had little engagement. For instance, this post asking fans to post a photo was less well-received by Walmart’s Facebook fans.

2. Curiosity: Posts that sparked and fulfilled curiosity for fans worked really well for Walmart. There’s a little caveat: only if there wasn’t a link in the post. The researchers hypothesized that links redirect fans away from the Facebook page.

One of Walmart’s top posts was an image of a biscuit recipe with a simple caption, “Boring biscuits? No way! Try this Sweet Potato Biscuit recipe.” It was shared more than 3,500 times! As fans could view the recipe and engage with the post immediately without having to leave Facebook, they were more likely do to so.

3. Fantasy: Posts that provided followers an opportunity to fantasize mostly had high levels of engagement. When Walmart asked their fans what they would do with a $7,500 Walmart Shopping Spree, the post generated more than 3,600 likes, 700 comments and 150 shares.

Such posts allow fans to express themselves creatively, share a personal narrative, and validate their emotional experiences.

Key takeaways for marketers

Understand the psychology of human interaction to better understand why your followers engage with you.

Experiment with gamification techniques in your social media posts(even beyond Facebook). Give your followers a challenge, spark curiosity and create opportunities for fantasy.

Five Marketing Trends to Watch in 2017

We may have crossed into the second half of 2017, but it’s never too late (or too early) to create or revise marketing strategies. Here are some marketing trends to consider when developing or evaluating and fine-tuning your communications plan.

1. Content marketing will drive strategy. People want feel a personal connection with the companies with which they want to do business. There’s no more effective way to accomplish this than through content marketing. This technique sets aside the hard sell and places a priority on communicating valuable information that is relevant to a target audience. It helps companies build their brand and voice while communicating the organization’s mission.
2. The role of marketing technologists will grow. Marketing is rapidly becoming one of the most technology-reliant spaces in business. In response to this transformation, the role of chief marketing technologist has emerged. The title may vary, but the person’s role is to align marketing technology with strategic business goals, serve as a liaison to the IT department, oversee technology providers and craft digital business models.
3. Short-term thinking will lead the way. Social media has created a need for marketing agility. Marketers now look to metrics including “likes,” “shares,” “tweets,” click-through rates and other technology-driven data. The winners will collect more consumer information, make quick decisions, readily adapt and focus on real-time marketing.
4. Marketing to millennials will adapt to a new age. Love them or hate them, millennials are here to stay. As they begin to enter their 30s, marketers need to adjust their messaging to address changing lifestyles and priorities.
5. Companies will increase focus on internal communications. Successful companies will use internal communications as a marketing strategy. By ensuring that every employee from the front line to the board of directors understands and lives the vision and mission of the company, businesses will build brand ambassadors that are invaluable to any marketing effort.

Any company that wants to maintain or increase its presence in the marketplace needs to be aware of these trends and determine how and what kind of impact they will have on brand visibility, corporate reputation and business development.

3 Reasons You Should Buy Gold (And 3 Reasons You Shouldn’t)

Recently someone asked me “Should I Buy Gold”? I promised I would answer that question, so here goes:

It depends.  Please bare with me as I explain.

No investment should be made without considering your overall portfolio, objectives, asset allocation, and how any new investment “fits” in the overall plan. I’d suggest you start with a more basic review of your portfolio and objectives before making this decision.  For those interested in discussion on broader portfolio strategy, see my article on asset allocation HERE.  For now, I’ll focus on gold (and, precious metals in general).

Is there a place for gold? Absolutely, and I’d urge it to be an intentionally targeted allocation withing your retirement investment portfolio. Some would argue Platinum or Silver would be a better choice at the current price relationship to gold (if you’re not familiar with these price relationships and ratios, I suggest you study them before purchasing any gold). So, let’s change “Gold” to “Precious Metals”. Are there down sides/risks of Precious Metals? Absolutely.

Here, then, are the basic arguments for and against Precious Metals. I won’t attempt to support or refute these arguments, as I believe each reader should form their own opinion. Also, to keep this post to a manageable length, I won’t get into the various means one could pursue to “own precious metals”. Suffice it to say, you can either buy physical (e.g., coins), Electronically Traded Funds (ETF’s), or equity/stock in companies that mine precious metals. I will draw some basic conclusions at the close of the following summary:

Arguments For Precious Metals

1) Diversification. Every portfolio should attempt to diversify exposure among asset classes that are not “correlated” (meaning, they move to different rhythms and should offer some protection of a price decline across your entire portfolio at the same time). The following chart shows gold prices vs the S&P 500 over the last five years, and you can see they do tend to move independently of each other.  (Some would argue the chart supports the position that equities are over-valued and precious metals are due for a “bounce”, I’ll let you draw your own conclusion):

Source:  Yahoo Finance

2) Currency & Inflation Hedge: If you believe the US Dollar is headed for decline, precious metals offer one means of “hedging” this risk. As a currency weakens, precious metals should increase. Regarding inflation, there are some who argue that precious metals will rise in a period of high inflation, protecting purchasing power. It should be noted that there are some who dispute this claim.

3) Economic Collapse Hedge: Media has had fun highlighting “Preppers”, or those that believe “TEOTWAWKI” (The End Of The World As We Know It) is at hand. True, precious metals could be a means of barter in the end times. As a Christian, I do believe there will ultimately be a dramatic change to life on our humble little planet. However, Precious metals will not be your salvation if/when such an event does occur.

Arguments Against Precious Metals

1) No Dividend Revenue. Warren Buffet (one of the greatest investors of all time) is strongly against precious metals as an investment, and one of his strongest arguments is that it doesn’t provide an income (such as dividends or interest). In the low interest rate such as we’re facing now, this is a smaller factor since the money you’d be investing in precious metals would have a lower “opportunity cost” (e.g., if you had it in a bank savings account it would earn a historically low interest rate anyway).

2) Low long term returns:  relative to equities (stocks), precious metals have historically been a poor investment choice over the long term.

3) It’s only worth what the next person will pay:  there’s no intrinsic value in precious metal, and it’s worth could decline if folks reduce the amount of money they invest in this commodity.  Also, some would argue it’s potentially a poor “bartering” item in an economic collapse if folks decide true consumables (e.g., toilet paper) are worth more than a metal coin which doesn’t cover true physical needs (e.g., food).

Conclusions

Every investor must make their own decision on precious metals.  I’d recommend that if you do decide to invest, recognize the pricing at the moment is lower than it’s been in the recent past.  Consider precious metals versus your other investment options, which are now trading at prices higher than historical averages.  Many argue that stocks/equities are over-valued and due for a correction, and bonds have risk if interest rates rise (bonds fall in value when interest rates rise). Regardless of your view, precious metals should not make up a significant percentage of your portfolio.  A 5-10% allocation is a reasonable allocation.

Personally, we own silver and gold (in all three forms:  bullion, ETF’s, and stocks of miners), and we’ve recently added a bit to my position.  We’ve determined various target price levels, and when precious metals fall below a target we add positions, taking the funds out of equities and/or bonds (“rebalancing”).  Our total allocation is ~5% of our portfolio, and we’re considering increasing our position slightly based on the target price strategy (e.g., another move lower will increase the allocation).   10% will be our largest allocation to precious metals, and we’ll only achieve that level if there is a 10% reduction in prices from current levels.  Similarly, if prices rise we will sell increments that we already own as certain price targets are realized.

Top 3 Retail Space Planning Tips

Some basic tips to scouting the perfect storefront for a future business; what you need to consider when it comes to choosing a commercial real estate spot.

When on the prowl for the site to house your newest business venture, the likelihood of it being a somewhat rushed process with a limited budget are likely. There’s a fighting chance you already know location can impact the future success of your business and many would confirm that choosing a location is the most important decision you can make.

Total Retail and Food Services Sales | FindTheData

In choosing this location, you must first know the demographics, budget, size of space necessary and basic negotiating practices.

(1) Retail Space Demographics

Analyzing demographics can be as simple or as complex as you make it. There are refined, expensive analysis tools that can provide everything from traffic patterns in the area, foot traffic in nearby businesses, and analytics of your closest competitor to the consumer behavior profile of people shopping in the area. These are all great tools if you have the resources, but the basic knowledge of age, income, with a little common sense could be equally beneficial. Knowing the history of the space is priceless. By finding out what businesses were there prior to it becoming available can answer a lot of questions. By knowing what didn’t work will give you the insight to focus on the spot or to keep looking. For example, if two juice bars didn’t succeed but you are convinced your juice bar is better, is it worth relying on the old saying a third time to charm?

During demographic research is a great time to analyze competition. Some new business owners shy away from being near competition, but many use it for momentum since a niche for that consumer has already been established. Its possible they also already paid for the high priced analytic tools you may be trying to avoid paying for. If you refuse to be near competition ask yourself how will you attract customers? Will they come to you? There are no set rules or guarantees in deciding these factors, brick and mortar spaces are not one size fits all.

(2) Shopping Around for Retail Space

Before you even start shopping around, know your budget, the size you need and the zoning requirements if there are any. Without these three you will waste time and possibly lose out on a great space. Look at four spots minimum and ask for a pro forma copy of the lease at the beginning. Looking at multiple spaces will also give you insight on price, then when negotiating you can have a stronger case. You know the inventory. Then before letting your heart get involved or your gut tells you what spot feels right; strategically go through price per square foot, length of lease required, tenant improvements offered and build out cost projections. Do not hesitate to use a real estate professional or an attorney as a safety measure to look things over, commercial lease terms can vary greatly. A real estate professional can help you negotiate.

(3) Signing the Lease

During negotiations price reductions usually do not happen, unless the area is fallen to difficult times economically or the market provides an excess of retail spots available. This is where you can rightfully ask for higher tenant improvements or a few months of free rent to cover some initial expenses. Commonly the longer the lease term is the more the landlord is willing to invest in the build out.

Before you sign on the dotted line some things to look out for are rent increases. In hot real estate markets usually these clauses will not be removed, however, you should attempt to get the amount capped. Another primary issue that needs to be addressed is the taxes and insurance. Be certain you come to a conclusion with who is responsible for maintenance and repairs as well; taking the time to look for these clauses can save you a lot of money and headache later.

Last but not least, have an exit strategy. What are your options if you decide to move out to a bigger and better space or the business doesn’t work out? Can you assign or sublease your space? Ask if there is a right to expand? Making sure you have an exit strategy because it limits the liability in the commitment of finding that perfect location for your business.

Workers Employed in the Retail Trade Industries (Seasonally Adjusted) | FindTheData

5 Attitude Lessons From a 92 Year Old

I’ve written frequently on the importance of our attitude as a key determinant for a successful and happy life.  It wasn’t by chance that my very first article on The Retirement Manifesto was titled “Contentment”,  and focused on my personal decision to view life in “a state of happiness and satisfaction.”  Our view on how we face life is a decision we each make, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Be aware, and make the right choice.  It’s your life, and you’ll live with the consequences of your decision.

Given the importance of personal attitude, I dedicate this post to “Mrs. Jones“, and have decided to post verbatim an article shared about this fine lady by Terry Quinn, author unknown. Perhaps it touched me deeply given the move we made earlier this year to put my mother-in-law into a nursing home, but I think the lesson serves us all well.  Here, then, is the full story:

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.  As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window.  “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room…. just wait.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied.

“Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.  Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind.  I already decided to love it.  It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up.  I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.  Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”

She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.  I am still depositing.”

And with a smile, she said:

Remember the five simple rules to be happy

1. Free your heart from hatred
2. Free your mind from worries
3. Live simply
4. Give more
5. Expect less

Source:  www.facebook.com/terryquinn210

I don’t know about you, but I’ve known some pretty miserable people.  I’ve also known some older folks who are unbelievably positive.  A previous neighbor, Joe, comes to mind.   Joe was active. He ran ultra-marathons well into his 70’s, and once challenged me to run a half marathon with him when he was a spry 72 year old.  I did run that race, and to this day it’s a marvelous memory that I’ll cherish the rest of my life.  He was a local legend, and many runners who had finished (well) ahead of us came back the last mile to run across the finish line with him.  I told him I now had a retirement goal – to beat his time when I became 72 years old.

He smiled. So did I.

Another story demonstrates a Joe’s attitude:  In his mid-70’s he cut his finger off while using a wood splinter (I told you he was active).  Unperturbed, he held up the remaining 9 and said, “Well, I had that finger for over 70 years, I guess it served me well”.

I have never heard Joe complain.

It seems the older folks get, the more embedded their disposition becomes, be it positive or negative.  Grumpy folks get grumpier.  Happy folks get happier.

Take a lesson from Mrs. Jones, and my friend Joe.

Choose to be happy.