Home improvement contractors are unique people. I am no longer surprised by the tricks pulled by some of them as I have learned to expect absolutely anything. Does their business environment require some to act a certain way? I have not yet fully figured this out and hope you’ll share some of your experiences and thoughts. Here are some of mine.
Know the work. This is a difficult one as the more you know the less pleasant it is to see the various shortcuts that are employed at your expense. However, …

I met a very nice couple over the weekend who had just bought their second home, a condominium, and were in the process of selling their brand new white appliances to replace with stainless steel equivalents. I can certainly understand when someone wants a certain brand or type of appliance or furniture to satisfy a particular need, perhaps for cool looks, image, brand name, acceptance, keeping up with the Jones’, resell value, or whatever that need may be. The topic here is the cost of the white appliances.
In the real …

For the last couple days, I’ve been dealing with project management issues. Training, textbooks and authorities on the topic say that you must have a clearly defined scope, timeline and resource plan. There are even contract writing solutions, all kinds of methodologies, and even books that go into detail on how to arrange the parts and execute to succeed where success is defined as completing the project on-time within budget. From my experience so far, all of this is not sufficient and is ineffective at guaranteeing a truely predictable successful …

We all have wishes and dreams but how does one go from a thought to an accomplishment? I always struggle with achievements because after I accomplish something, I end up feeling an enormous vacuum, a terrible feeling caused from lack of other dreams or goals. To combat this, I always have multiple major projects so completion of one does not create the vacuum I mention. If you struggle to see your dreams come true, here’s the simple formula: complete one task (however minor it may be) every day toward your …

To continue my comments on relationships, I’m writing some thoughts on how we can find our perfect match. It is a bit long, I’m sorry; but I hope it’s worth your time. I am probably not the best person to answer this question as it was very easy for me to find my perfect match. However, my belief is that there is no magic formula and there are no simple answers. Here are some of my observations in case you find them helpful.
Be worthy of some else’s life and commitment. …