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Looking for the Best Treatment for Bleeding Gums?

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When it comes to finding the best treatment for bleeding gums, you really need to seek out a professional. I, myself, had some issues years ago. I actually was not a big proponent of getting in the dentist’s chair and over the years I grew a healthy fear of going to the dentist. As long as I didn’t have any pain in my mouth, I figured I was doing just fine with my brushing that I would do every morning and night. However, what I didn’t know, was that my periodontal disease was growing and growing. The first thing that I started to notice was that I was trying really hard to control my bad breath odor. I would chew gum, have mints or sprays at the ready… all the time. I knew I was still brushing my teeth, but for some reason, I couldn’t shake it. As things progressed and I was still not visiting the dentist (and surely not a periodontist) the gum disease starting getting worse and worse. By the time I started trying to add things in, like flossing, it would only cause my gums to bleed. It was time for me to suck it up and make an appointment.

One of the really good side effects of getting married is that my wife just about forced me, to go to the dentist. When I got there I was informed that I would have to have deep cleaning done (deep scaling & root planing). Was it fun… no. Could it have been avoided? Yes. If I would only have taken good care of my mouth all along, I wouldn’t have ended up in that situation. So the moral of the story? If you’re looking for the best treatment for bleeding gums… go to a periodontist that will get you taken care of and set you on a path of healthy living for your mouth.

best treatment for bleeding gumsI was recently introduced to Post Oak Perio & Implant Center, lead by Dr. Stephan A. Kohnen. They are located in Houston, TX in the 77027 zip code. If you’re in their area, feel free to give them a call for a consultation and to get you back on the path of a healthy mouth.

Silverwood Country Retreat – Weekend Getaway

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Silverwood Country RetreatSilverwood Country Retreat (in Harris County & Waller County) was the resent destination for my wife’s and my “weekend getaway.”  We were introduced to the wonder family of the Timmermans and their property that they have opened to the public through some business connections.  As a side note, it’s amazing to me how networking is in our everyday life and is not just for building our businesses, but it also results in great connections/finds like this one. We were extremely pleased when we arrived at Silverwood Country Retreat. We decided to not do a day trip, camping, hiking or fishing… but instead, we went the route of having “Granny’s House” (Their Bed & Breakfast-type option) all to ourselves for the weekend.  It was wonderful.  From the HUGE screened-in front porch, you can enjoy the cooler mornings and evenings with (what seemed to be) a regular breeze that blows right through the front porch.  My wife, Ann, loved watching the cows from the rocking chairs on the front porch.  Silverwood Country Retreat really was a “Retreat” for us.

Inside “Granny’s House” at Silverwood Country Retreat

Inside the house, it’s very cute.  It has a fully functional kitchen (where I made some amazing grub for my wife and I), multiple bedrooms and bathrooms and cold A/C for those people like me that like to feel like they are in a meat locker when they’re sleeping.  Another pleasant surprise for me was the recliners in the living room.  I don’t have a recliner and it was nice to just lean back, rock, put up my feet and read a book.  I was soooo excited that I actually finished a book that I’ve been trying to get through for 6 months now!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZw3VmE2w2w&feature=player_detailpage[/youtube]

Outdoor Features of Silverwood Country Retreat

We got to take a walk around Silverwood Country Retreat and looked at all the old Dairy Farm buildings, equipment and such… just imagining what it must have been like when it was a fully functional Dairy Farm.  As we were walking around, we came across the water well behind “Granny’s House” and there’s a date carved into it, stating it was dug/built in 1896!  Wow!  So, we continued to the other side of the property where there is some additionally beautiful scenery.  There are a couple lakes (with lots of fish in them, I hear), a Big Huge Oak Tree, camping and picnicking areas that are all amazing.  The last thing that’s pretty neat is that the property is divided by water, where half of the property is in Harris County and the other half is in Waller County.

Would we visit Silverwood Country Retreat again?

Absolutely!  We can’t wait to find another weekend that we have the time to take, get away and relax for a long weekend at “Granny’s House” at Silverwood Country Retreat.  You should join us in the Guest Sign-in Book by planning (and going on) your very own local getaway to Silverwood Country Retreat.

Sonya Aston on – “Are Elections Confusing You?”

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Value Giving, Blog Contributor – Sonya Aston

I have asked some people that I Know, Like & Trust… to provide guest articles that bring needed “value” to the general public.  This is where they begin, with Sonya Aston… who happens to be running for the 127th State District Court Republican Judge.  Well, here’s the good stuff… oh and yes… My Name is Mitchell From and I approve this message by Sonya Aston.  🙂

Sonya Aston answers the question that most of us won’t answer honestly…  “Are Elections Confusing You?”

Ever sit around with friends and the topic of elections comes up and you really do not want to
admit that you do not know what a primary is? Or understand what the 2010 Census has to do
with elections? This series is designed to answer those questions that you were afraid to ask.

How does one get elected? It is different for each state and for each position. For a partisan
race, that is a race where a candidate is supported by a political party, the candidate must get the
nomination from their party. In Texas, presently there are only four parties that are recognized
by the State of Texas, the Democratic Party, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, and the
Republican Party. The Green Party and Libertarian Party select their candidates by convention.
In other words, they meet and everyone votes at the meeting to select their candidate. The
Democratic and the Republican Parties select their candidates by primary. In other words,
they hold a primary election. In the primary election, Democratic candidates will run against
Democratic candidates and Republican candidates will run against Republican candidates.

The successful candidates of the primaries and conventions will go on to be candidates in the
general election in November. The voting public may only vote in one of the primaries as long
as they did not participate or plan to participate in the conventions for the Green Party or the
Libertarian Party. If a voter votes in a primary or participates in a convention, they are now
considered a member of the party’s primary that they voted in during the primary or the party’s
convention that they attended. For example if a voter votes in the Democratic primary, there is a
record of their appearance to vote and now they are considered a Democrat.

In order to be on the ballot for the primary, a candidate must sign up to be on the ballot by a
certain date. This date is set by statute and is usually 90 days or so before the primary election.
In Texas, the sign up date was in mid-December. However, as a result of the redistricting that
took place in the spring of 2011, litigation sprang up and delayed the election.

So how do you know which party represents your thoughts on the world? There are a number
of ways to investigate. Typically each party will have a platform that lists issues and the party’s
stance on the issues. A voter can go online and find these platforms readily. Another means is
to attend a meeting. In Texas, a voter can look up the political party offices in a county online
and can usually find a list of meeting places and times. In Harris County Texas, the meetings are
all over the county and quite easily found.

The Democratic Party and the Republican Party hold a state convention every year that there is
a primary, which is every even-numbered year. Representatives to this convention are selected
at precinct conventions which are typically held after the polls close on election night. In Texas,
this year, the precinct conventions were held prior to the elections because the state conventions
were to be held 10 days after Election Day which is not enough time to get organized. In Harris
County, the conventions were held on April 21.

This is all great information, but it does not answer what offices are up for election in the
primary and the general elections. Stay tuned for more in the Are Elections Confusing series.

Sonya Aston for Republican Judge in Harris CountyBy Sonya Aston – Attorney with the Office of Stan Stanart, County Clerk and Republican
Candidate for Judge for the 127th State District Court for Harris County. Sonya Aston’s mission is
to instill responsibility in others for self, family, business, community and government and
promises that all who enter her court room will be greeted with respect and their time honored,
when they leave they will feel that they received expeditious, fair treatment and that the law was
followed. Please learn more by visiting Sonya Aston’s website.

Mitchell From Speaking @ Lone Star College – Tomball on 3/21/12

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Small Business Success Seminars

A Special Thanks to Karen Cavallaro for inviting me back to speak for the college.  This year she brings the Business Success Seminar Series to Tomball.  I am honored to be asked to speak at Tomball, since it’s where I live.  I look forward to sharing some tips on networking, as well as my own personal plan to networking success.   The topic of the presentation is my very own, “C.E.O.’s of Networking” and how having a plan for your networking will save you time & money, while increasing your effectiveness!

 

Speaker Mitchell From Speaks Lonestar College Tomball Business Success Seminars

Networking Diet – Are you on one?

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We’re going to talk about the “Networking Diet,” but I have to set things up for you first…

Networking Diet | Yo-Yo | Mitchell FromHave you ever felt like you needed to lose a few pounds so you went on a diet? That’s not the issue. The issue, is when you constantly feel like you need to lose some weight. Why? Because then you get on the viscous cycle that most dieters know way to much about. You go on a diet, lose some weight, and because you had some success, you decide to take it easy and go off plan. Surprise! You gain some of, if not all, the weight back. So what do you do next? That’s right, you go on another diet, and another, and another and the cycle goes on forever. Trust me, I know the drill. Haven’t you heard of this weight gain and weight loss being called the Dieter’s Yo-Yo? I’ve been overweight for many years now and it’s not because I like being overweight. In fact, you could say that I’ve lost more weight than most people. If you measured my success by my overall efforts and total weight lost, I’d be a winner. However, we don’t measure my success by my efforts or past weight lost, but by where I’m at. Have I arrived at a healthier, leaner, thinner physique? No.  Well, not for very long, at least.

The Networking Diet – Similarities? I think So.

The Networking Diet – What is it?

 

Networking Diet | Cut the Yo-Yo String | Mitchell From

In your business you have determined that networking is good for you. Networking is going to help you grow your business because of the referrals that you expect will come your way. So, off you go, looking for a few good networking groups to join. You attend and attend and attend these groups… almost religiously, until you start to get some referrals. This might be 30 days and this might have taken as much as 90-120 days. You start to build some trust with those around you. They see you at the events regularly and you even help a few people by making some connections for them. However, after a month or so, you decide that you’re getting too busy with business and you decide to step out of your networking groups. I mean, you don’t want to take on more business than is comfortable, right? *sarcasm* So, the Networking Diet kicks in and what you do is you leave the groups for a month or two, so things will settle down. The problem is you stopped attending the groups and they stopped referring business to you. The Networking Diet is in full effect at this point. The trust that networkers have for one another is significantly tied what I call I.C.E. They are looking to see what your Integrity looks like. They want to see if you are Consistent and whether you are truly Engaged. When you leave a group, your ICE melts. Here’s the recap: You go to groups, build up trust, referrals come. You leave groups, trust falters and referrals stop coming. [Rinse/Repeat] The other issue is that the more times you go through this cycle, the harder it is to rebuild that trust. What we need to do is to cut the string of that darn Yo-Yo.

Also, remember the regular food diets? It’s not about how much total weight you’ve lost.  With the Networking Diet, it’s not about the total amount of referrals you’ve received in the past.  It’s about where you’re currently at.  Have you arrived?  Have you arrived where you are currently seen as someone that people trust and freely, openly, warmly, refer business to you?  This is where you want to stay… clear away from the Networking Diet.

Break the Networking Diet cycle- Gain trust & referrals

Building Trust | Mitchell FromWhat do we do to break the Networking Diet cycle? Committed Consistency. Don’t be consistent for just a little while.  Be committed to a few groups that you can handle the time expense of. Then be consistent on a weekly/monthly basis. The longer you are consistently committed, the more success you will have because you will have given the relationships ample time to develop a deeper Know, Like & Trust… further distancing yourself from the Networking Diet cycle. Remember, people will do business with and refer business to, those that they Know, Like & Trust.

Networking should not be looked at like a diet.  It’s not a quick fix.  It’s a lifestyle change.  When people ask me if I’m eating healthy because I’m on a diet… I answer them, No, this is a lifelong change in eating habits/choices. It has to be, for long-term results & success. Make a long-term commitment to make networking a part of your business growth plan. Don’t get on the cycle; Stay off of the Networking Diet.

How Do I Sell My IT Company?

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Sell my IT company? – Have you thought about this question?

If you’re an owner of an I.T. (Information Technology) company, you’ve probably had that thought before.  How do I know?  I’ve been there.  I have spent over 15 years in the I.T. industry and that thought ran through my head plenty of times.  It’s not a bad thing.  Sometimes business owners go through life changes and business ownership is no longer a fit for them.  Sometimes they have put years into the business and now they want to get an early start on retirement.  Anyway you look at it, it’s not giving up… it’s moving on.  Again, I can say this from experience because I too sold my IT services company.  The main question I had was “How do I sell my IT company?”

Answering the question, “How do I sell my IT company?”…

The answer for me was just plain ole dumb luck.  I stumbled upon an opportunity to sell my IT company.  Up to that point, I really hadn’t seen any simple, easy, inexpensive, resource to help me sell my company.  That’s where I’m here to help.  I want to make it easy for others that are at that point and are finding it just as difficult as I did.  I have been blessed this past year with some amazing introductions and business associates.  These connections have made it possible for me to make this offer to you:

Looking to sell your IT company? Contact me.

If you are the owner of an IT Services Company (Managed Services or Break/Fix is a significant percentage of your revenue), then I would be open to looking at purchasing your company.  All you have to do is contact me by email, phone or social media and after a short conversation we can get started on the process.  We can sign an NDA, I will have our people review the company and then we’ll make an offer.  It’s that simple.  If you want out, you have an out… without just walking out empty handed while leaving all your customers in the breeze.  As I may be interested or willing to help with a transaction anywhere in the nation, I am personally interested in IT companies in the state of Texas, specifically Houston.

The “Sell My IT Company” statements…

How Do I Sell My IT Company? | Mitchell From | HandshakeI WANT to sell my IT company; I WISH I could sell my IT company; I NEED to sell my IT company or I PRAY I can sell my IT company.  Regardless which one of these is you… let me help.  I want to take what you’ve poured yourself into and carry on.  Your customers will be given the same great service that you always gave them.  Contact me and let me help.  Now you don’t need to wonder or ask… “How do I sell my IT company?”

 

Contact Mitchell From to “Sell my IT Company”

 

What is the quickest way to Fail at Networking?

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The quickest way to fail at networking is tied to the same reason that we came out and started networking in the first place.  We are typically introduced to networking through an individual, book, audio or video resource… encouraging us to grow our sales, our profits and our bottom line… through networking.  While this is usually the driving force behind us getting out into the “networking world,” it puts us in the wrong frame of mind, for successful networking.  Why?  Because this makes us think “Sales.”  I want to increase my bottom line, so it must be about how many people I can meet and present my products/services to, right? Wrong.

Networking is not about sales.  Networking is about connections and lots of them. If you think about the first part of Networking, you will see the word “Net.”  Just imagine a net and where each horizontal thread of the net meets a vertical thread.  At each of those points, you will find a “connection.”  If you want to catch more fish, you need a bigger net, right?  Well, you can make a net larger by either spacing out each connection, but then the holes in your net get larger and you net is not effective.  Instead, you have to have more and more connections that are closer together.  This will make a larger net and one where the holes are smaller, so you have success… catching fish. It’s the same with networking. We need to build our net by creating many solid connections with the people that we meet. Here’s the rub; when we start networking with a “sales” mindset, people will naturally pull away from us.  People do not want to be sold and neither do you.  We can smell a salesperson a mile away and we run away from them as fast as we can.  If we are trying to make “connections” in our net, then leading by selling isn’t going to work.  We have to put our sales hat aside and start looking at networking as an opportunity to get to know others around us and see how you can give into their lives.  By taking this approach, you will quickly begin to see your net grow and you will have the end result of increasing your bottom line, but as a bi-product of your networking, not as a result of your sales skills or prowess.

The Lost Art of Personal Thank You’s

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The Lost Art of the Thank You Note  – Give Honest Sincere Appreciation

I have learned a lot from Dale Carnegie during my life. As we start the new year off, I wanted to share a nugget that I have found very important.
Writing a sincere thank you note is one of the professional skills that can make a lasting favorable impression. People like being appreciated. One of Dale Carnegie’s fundamental human relation principles is “Give honest, sincere appreciation.” When writing a thank you note, use a plain, small card. However, the card is not as important as the effort, so if paper is all that is available, write the note anyway! Use this 6-step formula as a sure-fire method of expressing appreciation in a written note.
1. Greet the Giver: Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith OR Dear Jamie. It seems like an obvious point, yet many people will begin a note with “Hi” or even omit the greeting.
2. Express Gratitude: Thank you so much for the book. The key is to keep it simple and specific. The point of writing the note is to create an expression of a heartfelt sentiment.
3. Discuss Use: I started to read the book immediately and have found many great ideas already. People like to know that you found their gesture or gift valuable. Sharing how you are using the item or idea makes their effort more meaningful.
4. Another Thank You: Thank them again for the gift. It’s not excessive to say thanks again.
5. Complimentary Close: Wrap it up with a close that expresses your final thought: Regards, All the Best, Sincerely, Gratefully, etc. Then sign your name.
6. Send It: Even if your colleagues and acquaintances are not of the note-writing variety, be the one who sets the precedent.
It is the mark of a true professional to become skilled at writing thank you notes in this age of email, voicemail, and text messaging.
Demonstrating business professionalism is not difficult; it just takes effort and focus. Applying simple aspects of business etiquette goes a long way in establishing our professionalism, which builds our confidence and comfort in business settings.